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THE  CHURCH,   THE  PEOPLE, 
AND  THE  AGE 


€i 


Caspar  Ben^  Gregory 


The  Church, 
The  People,  and  the  Age 


EDITED  BY 


ROBERT   SCOTT 


GEORGE  WILLIAM    GILMORE 

Editors  op  The  Homiletie  Review 


Bnalpiisi  anb  ^ummarp 


BY 

CLARENCE    AUGUSTINE    BECKWITH 

PROFESSOR  OF  SYSTEMATIC  THEOLOGY, 
CHICAGO  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW   YORK    AND    LONDON 
1914 


Copyright,  1914,  bt 
FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 


Published  March,  1914 


i>^ 


[PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA] 


CONTENTS 


List  of  Contributors     ...••••     vii 
List  of  Portraits  ..*.•••      xi 

Preface  and  Introduction      ...•••     xv 

CHAPTEB 

L   Contributions: 

Group  One 1  to  120 

Group  Two 121  to  413 

Group  Three 415  to  479 

IL   Analysis  and  Summary   ....  481  to  508 

IIL  The  Historic  Creeds      ....  509  to  530 

IV.   Established     Forms     for     Reception     of 

Members  .....  531  to  546 

V.  Forms   for    Reception    of    Members    Sug- 
gested BY  Contributors  .  .  .  547  to  552 

Index 553  to  671 


[v] 


303995 


CONTRIBUTORS 


Lyman  Abbott,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  L.H.D.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
James  Granville  Adderley,  Birmingham,  England 
Walter  Frederic  Adeney,  D.D.,  Manchester,  England 
Sir  Robert  Anderson,  IjL.D.,  London,  England 
Svante  August  Arrhenius,  Ph.D.,  M.D.,  Stockholm,  Sweden 
Hugh  John  Dukinfield  Astley,  Litt.D.,  F.R.Hist.S.,  King's  Lynn,  England 
Baron  Avebury   (Sir  John  Lubbock),  P.O.,  D.O.L.,  LL.D.,  F.B.S.,  Lon- 
don, England 
William  Gay  Ballantine,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Springfield,  Mass. 
Samuel  Augustus  Bamett,  D.C.L.,  London,  England 
James  Levi  Barton,  D.D.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Joseph  Agar  Beet,  D.D.,  Richmond,  England 

Arthur  Christopher  Benson,  F.R.Hist.S.,  F.R.S.L.,  Cambridge,  England 
Amy  Gaston  Charles  Auguste  Bonet-Maury,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Paris,  France 
Gottlieb  Nathanael  Bonwetsch,  Th.D.,  Goettingen,  Germany 
Arthur  Elmore  Bostwick,  Ph.D.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Charles  Augustus  Briggs,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  Wright  Buckham,  D.D.,  Berkeley,  Cal. 
Samuel  Parkes  Cadman,  D.D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Alexander  Francis  Chamberlain,  Ph.D.,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Henry  W.  Clark,  M.A.,  Charisma,  Harpenden,  England 
Frank  Wiggleswoith  Clarke,  D.Sc,  LL.D.,  Washington,  D.  0. 
Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  D.D.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
John  Merle  Coulter,  Ph.D.,  Chicago,  HL 
Philip  Wendell  Crannell,  D.D.,  Kansas  City,  Eans. 
George  Cross,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Charles  Benedict  Davenport,  Ph.D.,  Cold  Spring  Harbor,  N.  Y. 
George  Ellsworth  Dawson,  PIlD.,  Springfield,  Mas& 
William  James  Dawson,  D.D.,  Newark,  N.  J. 
James  Denney,  D.D.,  Glasgow,  Scotland 
August  Johannes  Domer,  PIlD.,  D.D.,  Eoenigsberg,  GeimaDy 
Dyce  Duckworth,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  London,  England 
Charles  William  Eliot»  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Cambridge^  MaSB. 
Havelock  Ellis,  London,  England 

[vii] 


CONTRIBUTORS 

Bndolf  Cliristoph  Eucken,  PIlD.,  D.D.,  I1I1.D.,  Jena,  Oeimany 

Milton  G.  Evans,  D.D.,  Chester,  Pa. 

Irving  Fisher,  Ph.D.,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

G.  Walter  Fisk,  Oberlin,  Ohio 

George  Holley  Gilbert,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Dorset,  Vt, 

George  Milbry  Gould,  M.D.,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

Caspar  Rene  Gregory,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  S.T.D.,  I1L.D.,  Leipsic,  Germany 

E.  Griffith-Jones,  D.D.,  Bradford,  England 

William  Elliot  Griffis,  D.D.,  L.H.D.,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Almon  Gunnison,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Canton,  N.  Y. 

Theodore  Haering,  Th.D.,  Ttibingen,  Germany 

Granville  Stanley  Hall,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Edward  John  Hamilton,  D.D.,  S.T.D.,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 

Paul  Henry  Hanus,  I1I1.D.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Adolf  Hamack,  Ph.D.,  Th.D.,  D.Jur.,  Berlin,  Germany 

Eugene  Bussell  Hendrix,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Herbert  Hensley  Henson,  D.D.,  Westminster,  England 

J.  Arthur  Hill,  Bradford,  England 

Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  D.D.,  L.H.D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Henry  Scott  Holland,  D.D.,  Litt.D.,  Oxford,  England 

Jesse  Herman  Holmes,  Ph.D.,  Swa-rthmore,  Pa. 

John  William  Horsley,  M.A.,  Detling,  England 

Theodore  Whitefield  Hunt,  Ph.D.,  Litt.D.,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

Henry  Hamilton  Johnston,  K.C.B.,  K.C.M.G.,  D.Sc,  Arundel,  England 

David  Starr  Jordan,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Stanford  University,  CaL 

Henry  Churchill  Bang,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  S.T.D.,  Oberlin,  Ohio 

Irving  King,  Ph.D.,  Iowa  City,  Iowa 

George  Trumbull  Ladd,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

James  Henry  Leuba,  Ph.D.,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

James  Lindsay,  D.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  F.R.S.E.,  Irvine,  Scotland 

Friedrich  Armin  Loofs,  Ph.D.,  Th.D.,  Halle,  Germany 

Charles  Stedman  Macfarland,  Ph.D.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

John  Stuart  Mackenzie,  Litt.D.,  LL.D.,  Cardiff,  Wales 

Edwin  Markham,  West  New  Brighton,  N.  Y. 

James  Gore  B:ing  McClure,  D.D.,  LKD.,  Chicago,  EI. 

Samuel  McComb,  D.D.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Allan  Menzies,  D.D.,  St.  Andrews,  Scotland 

Eduard  Montet,  D.D.,  Geneva^   Switzerland 

[  viii  ] 


CONTRIBUTORS 

Edward  Caldwell  Moore,  PI1.D.,  D.D.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Edgar  Young  Mullins,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Scott  Hearing,  PI1.D.,  Germantown,  Pa. 

James  Orr.,  D.D.,  Glasgow,  Scotland 

Francis  Greenwood  Peabody,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

William    Matthew    Flinders    Petrie,    D.C.L.,    Litt.D.,    LL.D.,    London, 

England 
James  Bissett  Pratt,  Ph.D.,  Williamstown,  Mass. 
Walter  Bauschenbuscb,  D.D.,  Bocbester,  N.  Y. 
Junius  Benjamin  Bemensnyder,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  New  York 
Archibald  Thomas  Bobertson,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Louisvillo,  Ky* 
Bobert  McWatty  Bussell,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  New  Wilmington,  Pa. 
Paul  Wilhelm  Schmiedel,  Th.D.,  Zurich,  Switzerland 
Charles  Monroe  Sheldon,  D.D.,  Topeka,  Kans. 
Henry  Clay  Sheldon,  D.D.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Hermann  Siebeck,  Ph.D.,  Th.D.,  Giessen,  Germany 
William  Macdonald  Sinclair,  D.D.,  Henfield,  England 
Gerald  Bimey  Smith,  D.D.,  Chicago,  IlL 
James  Henry  Snowden,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pittsburgh,  Fa. 
Theodore  Gerald  Soares,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Chicago,  HL 
James  Stalker,  D.D.,  Aberdeen,  Scotland 
Augustus  Hopkins  Strong,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bochester,  N.  Y. 
Josiah  Strong,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  New  York 
Milton  Spencer  Terry,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Evanston,  HL 
William  St.  Clair  Tisdall,  D.D.,  Bedford,  England 
W.  Van  der  Vlugt,  D.U.J.,  Leyden,  Holland 

Bernard  Hendrick  Cornelis  Van  der  Wyck,  L.H.D.,  Utrecht,  Holland 
David  Van  Home,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Dayton,  Ohio 
Philip  VoUmer,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  Dayton,  Ohio 
Benjamin  B.  Warfield,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Litt.D.,  Princeton,  N.  J. 
John  Watson  (Ian  Maclaren),  D.D.,  Liverpool,  England 
Lauchlan  MacLean  Watt,  M.A.,  B.D.,  F.B.S.E.,  Edinburgh,  Scotland 
James  Morris  Whiton,  Ph.D.,  New  York 
Frederick  William  Worsley,  M.A.,  Cambridge,  England 
Andrew  C.  Zenos,  D,D.,  LL.D.,  Chicago,  HL 


[ix] 


PORTRAITS 


PACK 

Lyman  Abbott,  D.D.,  I1L.D.,  I1.H.D 424 

James  Granville  Adderley 120 

Walter  Frederic  Adeney,  D.D 232 

Sir  Robert  Anderson,  LL.D 424 

Svante  August  Arrbenius,  Ph.D.,  M.D 360 

Hugh  John  Dukinfield  Astley,  Litt.D.,  F.R.Hist.S 184 

William  Gay  Ballantlne,  D.D.,  I1L.D 424 

Samuel  Augustus  Bamett,  D.C.L. 184 

James  Levi  Barton,  D.D 472 

Clarence  A.  Beckwitb 9MMIi|HHII    5b 

Joseph  Agar  Beet,  D.D 56 

Arthur  Christopher  Benson,  F.R.Hist.S.,  F.B.S.L 184 

Amy  Gaston  Charles  Auguste  Bonet-Maury,  D.D.,  LL.D 56 

Gottlieb  Nathanael  Bonwetsch,  Th.D Frontispiece 

Charles  Augustus  Briggs,  D.D.,  Litt. Frontispiece 

John  Wright  Buckham,  D.D 296 

Samuel  Parkes  Cadman,  D.D..«. 120 

Alexander  Francis  Chamberlain,  Ph.D 472 

Henry  W.  Clark,  M.A 184 

Frank  Wigglesworth  Clarke,  D.Sc,  LL.D 472 

John  Merle  Coulter,  Ph.D 360 

Philip  Wendell  Crannell,  D.D 232 

George  Cross,  Ph.D.,  D.D 56 

George  Ellsworth  Dawson,  Ph.D 360 

William  James  Dawson,  D.D 120 

James  Denney,  D.D Frontispiece 

Charles  William  Eliot,  Ph.D.,  LL.D 232 

Rudolf  Christoph  Eucken,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  LL.D 296 

Milton  G.  Evans,  D.D 232 

Irving  Fisher,  Ph.D 472 

G.  Walter  Fisk 424 

George  Holley  Gilbert,  Ph.D.,  D.D 424 

George  Milbry  Gould,  M.D 472 

[xi] 


PORTRAITS 

PAGE 

Caspar  Rene  Gregory,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  S.T.D.,  I1L.D Frontispiece 

E.  GrifBth-Jones,  D.D 184 

WiUiam  Elliot  Grifls^  D.D.,  L.H.D 472 

Theodore  Haering,  Th.D 56 

Granville  Stanley  Hall,  Ph.D.,  I1L.D 232 

Edward  John  Hamilton,  D.D.,  S.T.D 296 

Paul  Henry  Hanus,  LL.D 36d 

Adolf  Hamack,  Ph.D.,  Th.D.,  D.Jur. 66 

Eugene  Russell  Hendrix,  D.D.,  I1L.D 120 

Herbert  Hensley  Henson,  D.D 184 

J.  Arthur  Hill 472 

Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  D.D.,  L.H.D 184 

Henry  Scott  Holland,  D.D.,  Litt.D 120 

Jesse  Herman  Holmes,  Ph.D 424 

John  William  Horsley,  M.  A 184 

Theodore  Whitefield  Hunt,  Ph.D.,  Litt.D 472 

Henry  Halcro  Johnston,  D.Sc,  M.D.,  O.B 360 

David  Starr  Jordan,  Ph.D.,  IjL.D 232 

Henry  Churchill  King,  D.D.,  I1L.D.,  S.T.D 232 

Irving  King,  Ph.D 360 

George  Trumbull  Ladd,  D.D.,  I1L.D 296 

James  Henry  Leuba,  Ph.D 360 

James  Lindsay,  D.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  F.R.S.E Frontispiece 

Priedrich  Armin  Loofs,  Ph.D.,  Th.D Frontispiece 

Charles  Stedman  Macfarland,  Ph.D 424 

John  Stuart  Mackenzie,  Litt.D.,  LL.D 296 

Edwin  Markham  472 

Samuel  McComb,  D.D 120 

Allan  Menzies,  D.D 360 

Eduard  Montet,  D.D Frontispiece 

Edgar  Young  Mullins,  D.D.,  LL.D 232 

Scott  Nearlng,  Ph.D 360 

James  Orr,.  D.D. Frontispiece 

Francis  Greenwood  Peabody,  D.D.,  LL.D 296 

William  Matthew  Flinders  Petrie,  D.C.L.,  Litt.D.,  LL.D 472 

Walter  Rauschenbusch,  D.D 424 

Junius  Benjamin  Remensnyder,  D.D.,  LL.D 120 

Archibald  Thomas  Robertson,  D.D.,  LL.D 56 

[xii] 


PORTRAITS 

P'-OE 

Eobert  Mc Watty  Russell,  D.D.,  I1I1.D 232 

Paul  Willielin  Schmiedel,  TIlD 424 

Charles  Monroe  Sheldon,  D.D 120 

Henry  Clay  Sheldon,  D.D 56 

Hermann  Siebeck,  Ph.D.,  Th.D 296 

William  Macdonald  Sinclair,  D.D 120 

James  Henry  Snowden,  D.D.,  LL.D 296 

Theodore  Gerald  Soares,  PIlD.,  D.D 360 

James  Stalker,  D.D Frontispiece 

Josiah  Strong,  D.D 424 

Milton  Spencer  Terry,  D.D.,  LL.D 56 

W.  Van  der  Vlugt,  D.U.J 296 

Bernard  Hendrick  Cornells  Van  der  Wyck,  L.H.D 296 

David  Van  Home,  D.D.,  LL.D 232 

Benjamin  B.  Warfield,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Litt.D 56 

Lauchlan  MacLean  Watt>  M.A.,  B.D.,  F.B.S.E 120 

James  Morris  Whiton,  Ph.D 184 

Frederick  William  Worsley,  M.A 184 

Andrew  C.  Zenos,  D.D Frontispiece 


PREFACE 

Those  who  are  endeavoring  to  serve  their  day  and 
generation  will  not  shut  their  eyes  to  facts.  To  do  so 
is  moral  suicide.  Acquaintance  with  facts  and  condi- 
tions is  essential  to  the  proper  consideration  of  ques- 
tions affecting  the  life  of  the  individual  and  of  society. 
There  were  two  facts  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the 
editors  when  the  question  before  us  was  first  mooted. 
(1)  There  appeared  to  be  a  widespread  indifference 
to  the  claims  of  the  Church.  (2)  There  were  many 
who  might  easily  be  numbered  as  having  the  interests 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  at  heart  yet  were  not  enrolled 
members  of  the  organized  church.  Concerning  the 
first  statement  it  has  been  amply  confirmed  by  the 
opinions  expressed  in  the  following  pages.  As  to  the 
second  statement  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  there 
are  many  who,  like  Mr.  Lincoln  (see  next  page),  are 
deterred  from  joining  certain  churches  because  of  the 
peculiar  and  complicated  tenets  professed. 

Believing  that  a  distinct  service  could  be  rendered 
to  the  entire  Church  and  the  kingdom  of  God,  the 
editors  communicated  with  leaders  of  thought  in 
Europe  and  America  to  ascertain  their  views  concern- 
ing the  indifference  of  a  considerable  number  to  the 
organized  Church  and  also  as  to  the  basis  and  direction 
for  a  fundamental  theology  of  the  Church  for  the  age 
in  which  we  live.  The  contributions  received  number 
one  hundred  and  five,  and  represent  the  fields  of  re- 

[xv] 


PREFACE 

Hgion,  theology,  science,  and  literature.  Still  further 
they  represent,  as  would  be  expected,  varied  points 
and  types  of  view.  There  are  those  who  believe  with 
Mr.  Lincoln,  while  others  dissent,  with  different  degrees 
of  emphasis,  from  his  proposition.  Some  either  uphold 
or  assail  creeds,  others  again  hold  that  creeds  should  be 
plastic,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  developing  thought  and  life 
of  the  time. 

The  substance  of  the  letter  sent  to  each  contributor 
was  as  follows: 

Why  is  it  that  there  are  so  many  persons  who  are 
indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  Church?  For  reasons 
best  known  to  themselves  there  are  thousands  upon 
thousands  who  refuse  to  become  identified  with  the 
Church  in  any  of  its  numerous  denominations.  We  may 
get  some  basis  for  their  attitude  by  pondering  what 
Abraham  Lincoln  has  to  say  on  this  question.    To  quote : 

"I  have  never  united  myself  to  any  church  because 
I  have  found  difficulty  in  giving  my  assent  without 
mental  reservation  to  the  long  complicated  statements 
of  Christian  doctrine  which  characterize  their  Articles 
of  Belief  and  Confession  of  Faith.  Whenever  any 
church  will  inscribe  over  its  altar,  as  its  sole  qualifica- 
tion for  membership,  the  Saviour's  condensed  statement 
of  the  substance  of  both  Law  and  Gospel,  *Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  Church  I  will  join  with  all 
my  heart  and  all  my  soul." 

Is  it  true  that  this  experience  is  typical  of  thousands 
of  others?  Do  you  think  it  wise  to  ask  the  great 
majority  of  people  to  subscribe  to  statements  that 
deal  with  debated  and  controversial  questions?  Or  do 
you  think  the  Church  should  limit  itself  to  a  declara- 
tion that  seeks  a  common  purpose  of  love  and  service 
to  God  and  man,  or,  as  Abraham  Lincoln  put  it,  "as  its 

[  xvi  ] 


PREFACE 

sole  qualification  for  membership"  the  brief  statement  of 
our  Lord,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

And  this  leads  to  a  further  question,  a  natural 
corollary  of  what  has  been  stated.  What  should  be 
the  basis  and  direction  for  a  fundamental  theology  of 
the  Church?  In  what  way  is  it  to  be  related  to  the 
literary,  scientific,  and  philosophical  certainties  of 
our  time?  Can  a  theology  be  unassailable  and  final 
that  does  not  accord  with  the  assured  results  of 
science?  Is  it  not  true  that  a  message  to  be  effective 
must  stand  for  and  teach  those  things  that  constitute 
the  sum  total  of  the  values  of  human  life,  whatever 
their  source  may  be? 

While  it  is  true  that  in  some  churches  the  formula 
required  for  new  members  is  not  of  a  controversial  or 
metaphysical  nature  it  is  nevertheless  true — and  this 
also  the  editors  had  in  mind — that  what  is  preached 
frequently  partakes  of  that  nature.  As  Professor 
Gilbert  remarks,  "It  is  not  merely  the  door  of  the 
Church  that  is  forbidding  to  many  but  what  one  hears 
within."     ( See  page  228. ) 

Within  the  limits  set  for  this  work  it  was  impos- 
sible to  produce  in  toto  the  historical  creeds,  but  we 
have  given  the  "ecumenical"  creeds  and  the  chief  facts 
concerning  the  post-reformation  creeds,  so  that  the 
reader  may  get  some  conception  of  the  stress  and  im- 
portance that  the  theologians  of  an  era  now  gone  put 
upon  formulated  statements.  This  is  in  marked  con- 
trast with  what  is  found  in  this  volume,  where  the 
emphasis  is  upon  the  Master's  teaching:  "I  came  that 
they  may  have  life,  and  may  have  it  abundantly." 

Comparison  of  some  forms  for  admission  of  mem- 
bers with  the  creeds  of  certain  churches  will  show  that 

[  xvii  1 


PREFACE 

this  stress  upon  formulated  statements  is  not  altogether 
a  thing  of  the  past,  that  some  churches  still  require 
of  entering  members  assent  to  extended  statements 
which  commit  them  to  complex  affirmations.  These 
affirmations  include  alike  matters  of  a  recondite  nature 
(such  as  the  procession  of  the  Spirit)  and  those  which 
deal  with  the  authorship  of  certain  books  of  the  Bible. 
Proof  of  the  Trinity  is  in  some  of  these  confessions 
derived  from  Gen.  1  and  3  and  from  1  John  5:  7,  a 
verse  which  is  excluded  from  modern  texts  and  versions 
as  not  belonging  to  the  original.  The  new  member 
is  committed  to  denial  of  the  free  will  of  man,  and  to 
the  belief  that  babes  in  the  womb  are  "infected"  with 
"original  sin."  (See  page  544,  and  cf.  Belgic  Confes- 
sion, Articles  IV,  IX,  XIV,  XV.) 

In  editing  the  contributions  we  found  that  it  would 
be  possible  to  adopt  a  grouping  system  that  would 
bring  similar  opinions  under  one  head.  It  is  to  be 
understood  that  these  divisions  do  not  indicate  precisely 
the  particular  school  of  thought  of  the  writers.  Occa- 
sionally we  came  across  a  manuscript  that  was  diffi- 
cult to  classify.  In  that  case  editorial  judgment 
(which  is  always  fallible)  located  the  contribution  for 
the  sake  of  convenience  where  the  trend  of  thought 
seemed  to  locate  it. 

Some  of  the  articles  contain  suggested  formula. 
These  we  have  deemed  it  wise  to  bring  together  in  a 
separate  chapter. 

At  the  time  this  symposium  was  planned  Professor 
Rudolf  Eucken  kindly  consented  to  lead  in  the  dis- 
cussion. We  have  therefore  put  his  contribution  at 
the  beginning  of  the  volume. 

This  unique  production  has  been  made  possible  by 

I  xviii  ] 


PREFACE 

the  generous  response  of  the  contributors.  What  do 
these  many  expressions  yield  and  what  is  the  next 
step?  Professor  Beckwith  in  his  "Analysis  and  Sum- 
mary" has  endeavored  to  answer  the  first  question; 
the  other  is  for  individuals  and  religious  organizations 
to  determine. 


I  xix  I 


INTRODUCTION 

RUDOLF    CHRISTOPH   EUCKEN, 
Ph.D.,   D.D.,   LL.D., 

JENA^  GERMANY 

Professor  of  philosophy  in  the  University  of  Jena  since 
1874;  born  at  Aurich,  East  Friesland,  Germany,  Jan.  5, 
1846;  educated  at  Gottingen  and  Berlin;  professor  of 
philosophy  at  Basel,  1871;  member  of  the  Royal  Swedish 
Academy  of  Science  since  1908,  of  the  Finnish  Society  of 
Science  since  1911^  and  of  Accademia  dei  Lincei  (Rome) 
since  1912;  won  the  Nobel  Prize  for  Literature,  1908; 
author  of  Geschichte  und  Kritik  der  Grundhegriffe  der 
Gegenwart,  4th  ed.,  Geistige  Stromungen  der  Gegenwart, 
Eng.  transl..  Fundamental  Concepts  of  Modern  Philo- 
sophic Thought;  Die  Einheit  des  Geistes  Lebens;  Die 
Lebensanschauungen  der  grossen  Denher,  Eng.  transl.. 
Problem  of  Human  Life  as  Viewed  by  the  Great  Thinkers; 
Der  Kampf  um  einen  geistigen  Lebensinhalt;  Der  Wahr- 
heitsgehalt  der  Religion,  Eng.  transl..  The  Truth  of  Relig- 
ion; Grundlinien  einer  neuen  Lebensanschauung ;  Haupt- 
probleme  der  Religionsphilosophie  der  Gegenwart;  Der 
Sinn  und  Wert  des  Lebens,  Eng.  transl..  Meaning  and 
Value  of  Life;  Einfiihrung  in  eine  Philosophic  des 
Geisteslebens,  Eng.  transl..  Life  of  the  Spirit;  Religion 
and  Life;  and  Erkennen  und  Leben. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  churches  of  to-day 
do  not  fully  satisfy  the  religious  needs  of  mankind. 
Often  the  most  religious  natures  are  those  that  hold 
themselves  aloof  from  the  Church.  I  find  the  main 
reason  for  this  in  that  the  churches  cling  too  tenaciously 
to  some  old  formula  that  is  becoming  more  and  more 
antiquated,  so  that  the  Church  loses  touch  with  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  present.  The  crisis  of  the  present 
day  can  be  overcome  only  when  the  time-dimmed  truths 

[xx] 


INTRODUCTION. 

of  Christianity,  the  original  elements  of  the  Christian 
life,  are  again  clearly  set  forth  and  brought  into  fruit- 
ful relationship  to  the  position  and  advancement  of 
the  present. 

That  which  has  become  obsolete  or  of  minor  impor- 
tance should  no  longer  be  regarded  as  eternal  and  indis- 
pensable and  laid  as  a  heavy  burden  upon  mankind, 
but  rather  should  be  energetically  put  aside. 

If  the  churches  cannot  find  the  courage  and  strength 
for  such  a  course,  they  will  find  themselves  becoming 
more  and  more  estranged  from  mankind. 


[xxi] 


GROUP  ONE 


[1] 


\  ,' '  '• 


SIR    ROBERT    ANDERSON,    LL.D., 

LONDON,  ENGLAND 

Justice  of  the  peace  for  London;  born  May  29,  1841; 
educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin;  received  his  LL.D. 
degree  from  that  college  in  1875;  adviser  in  matters  re- 
lating to  political  crime,  1868;  assistant  conmiissioner  of 
police  of  the  metropolis,  and  head  of  Criminal  Investiga- 
tion Department  from  1888-1901;  author  of  The  Com- 
ing Prince;  Human  Destiny;  The  Gospel  and  Its  Minis- 
try; Daniel  in  the  Critics'  Den;  The  Silence  of  God;  The 
Bible  and  Modern  Criticism;  Pseudo-Criticism;  For  Us 
Men;  The  Way;  Sidelights  on  the  Home  Rule  Movement; 
In  Defense:  A  Plea  for  the  Faith;  Criminals  and  Crime; 
The  Lighter  Side  of  My  Official  Life;  The  Bible  or  the 
Church?;  The  Lord  from  Heaven. 

There  are  only  two  books  from  which  we  can  leam 
anything  about  God.  The  first  is  the  book  of  nature. 
In  view  of  the  wonders  of  nature  the  atheist  is — ^well, 
he  is  the  opposite  of  a  philosopher!  And  the  God  of 
nature  claims  our  reverence  and  awe,  and  above  all  our 
fear;  for,  as  a  French  infidel  phrased  it,  "Nature  knows 
no  such  foolery  as  forgiveness  of  sins."  But  to  speak  of 
love  in  this  connection  is  either  poetry  or  nonsense. 

But  the  book  to  which  alone  we  owe  our  knowledge 
of  a  personal  God  is  the  Bible — and  the  Bible  as  a  divine 
revelation;  for  if  it  have  not  that  character,  we  are 
thrown  back  upon  natural  religion.  The  Bible  reveals 
a  God  who  is  "gracious  and  full  of  compassion"  and, 
above  all,  who  is  love.  And  this  it  was,  no  doubt,  that 
President  Lincoln  had  in  view  when  he  used  the  words 
which  are  given  me  as  a  text  for  this  article.  But  it  is 
precisely  in  this  revelation  of  mercy  and  love  that  the 
Bible  seems  opposed  to  the  voice  of  nature — "nature 

[3] 


TtiE  dHTlliGH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

red  in  tooth  and  claw."  How  utterly  unreasonable  then 
it  would  be  to  adopt  its  teaching  here,  while  discarding 
it  in  all  besides. 

The  Bible,  moreover,  is  a  progressive  revelation, 
and  it  reaches  its  climax  in  the  advent  and  work  of 
Christ.  In  and  through  him  it  was  that  "the  kindness 
of  God  and  his  love-toward-man  appeared."  Or  as  the 
Apostle  John  writes,  "In  this  was  manifested  the  love 
of  God  toward  us,  that  God  sent  his  only-begotten  Son 
into  the  world  that  we  might  live  through  him."  And 
he  adds,  "Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but 
that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins."  And  this  is  "the  Christian  creed";  not 
(as  Harnack  puts  it) ,  "that  a  man  of  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  once  stood  in  our  midst,"  but  that  the  Son  of  God 
came  down  to  earth  to  die  for  the  sins  of  men. 

If  we  shake  free  from  the  superstitions  which  cluster 
roimd  the  word  "church,"  we  shall  recognize  that  the 
enfranchised  citizens  of  Ephesus  were  as  really  a  church 
as  were  the  Christians  of  Ephesus.  But  the  citizens 
were  not  a  Christian  church.  Neither  would  Lincoln's 
ideal  church  have  any  claims  to  that  designation.  And 
yet  this  symposium  will  probably  show  that  his  views 
are  approved  in  many  unexpected  quarters.  For  the 
churches  of  the  Reformation  have  drifted  from  their  old 
anchorage  in  the  Bible  as  a  divine  revelation.  The  facts 
of  the  life  and  death  of  the  Nazarene  are  enshrined  in 
human  history;  but  our  knowledge  of  him  as  Son  of 
God,  and  as  the  propitiation  for  human  sin,  depends 
entirely  upon  revelation.  And  if  the  various  theological 
colleges  and  "Christian  ministers"  who  have  accepted 
"the  assured  results"  of  German  rationalism  respecting 
the  Bible  still  cling  to  belief  in  the  deity  of  Christ  and 

[4] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  atonement,  the  fact  bears  testimony  to  then*  piety, 
but  at  the  expense  of  their  intelligence. 

Here  the  ways  divide.  If  any  one  could  draw  "the 
lapsed  masses,"  or  even  the  socialists,  into  a  "church" 
pledged  to  the  principles  of  love  to  God  and  man,  he 
would  deserve  well  of  this  generation.  But  the  scheme 
is  chimerical.  There  are  some  infidels  whose  outward 
life  might  put  many  Christians  to  shame;  but  cases  of 
the  kind  are  rare.  And  they  are  usually  the  outcome 
of  a  Christian  training  or  environment.  Being  myself 
a  skeptic  by  both  temperament  and  training,  I  can 
sympathize  with  honest  skepticism.  But  Lincoln's  thesis 
is  pure  agnosticism.  And  agnosticism  is  Greek  for  ig- 
norance. And  if  God  has  given  us  a  revelation,  igno- 
rance is  not  a  misfortune  but  a  high-handed  sin,  for  it 
implies  contempt  of  the  revelation. 

I  will  only  add  that  President  Lincoln  was  too  en- 
lightened to  confound  "Christendom  religion"  with  the 
Christianity  of  the  New  Testament.  And  his  scheme 
of  an  ideal  church  was  probably  intended  as  a  "back- 
hander" at  the  religion,  not  as  a  slur  upon  Christianity. 
To  reject  Christianity  because  of  the  prevalence  of 
superstition  and  error  would  be  on  a  par  with  refusing 
all  money  because  there  are  base  coins  and  flash  notes 
in  circulation. 


[5] 


CHARLES  AUGUSTUS  BRIGGS,  D.D.,  D.Litt., 

NEW   YORK^    N.    Y. 

Late  professor  of  theological  encyclopedia  and  symbolics  at 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  since  1904;  born 
in  New  York,  Jan.  15,  1841;  died  June  8,  1913;  studied 
at  the  University  of  Virginia,  1857-60;  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  1861-63;  University  of  Berlin,  1866-69;  or- 
dained Presbyterian  minister,  1870;  pastor  at  Roselle, 
N.  J.,  1870-74;  professor  of  Hebrew  and  cognate  lan- 
guages at  Union  Theological  Seminary,  1874-1891; 
professor  of  Biblical  theology,  1891-1904;  author  of 
Biblical  Study;  American  Preshyterianism;  Messianic 
Prophecy ;  Whither?  A  Theological  Question  for  the 
Times;  The  Authority  of  Holy  Scripture;  The  Higher 
Criticism  of  the  Hexateuch;  The  Bible,  the  Church  and 
the  Reason;  The  Messiah  of  the  Apostles;  The  Messiah  of 
the  Gospels;  The  Case  of  Dr.  Briggs,  3  parts;  General 
Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Holy  Scripture;  The  Incar- 
nation of  the  Lord;  New  Light  on  the  Life  of  Jesus; 
Ethical  Teaching  of  Jesus;  Commentary  on  the  Psalms; 
Church  Unity;  New  Hebrew  Lexicon  (with  Francis 
Brown  and  S.  R.  Driver)  ;  The  Papal  Commission  and  the 
Pentateuch;  editor  of  the  International  Critical  Commen- 
tary, International  Theological  Library, 

QUALIFICATIONS    FOR    CHURCH    MEMBERSHIP 

In  response  to  the  question  asked  whether  "the  sole 
qualification  for  membership  in  the  Christian  Church 
should  be  the  statement  of  the  substance  of  both  law 
and  gospel,  *Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind, 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself :'  "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say, 
that  no  church  could  make  this  the  sole  qualification  for 
membership  without  divesting  itself  of  its  Christianity, 
and  ceasing  to  be  a  Christian  Church. 

1.  It  is  not  true  that  this  ethical  summary  is  a  sum- 

[6] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mary  of  the  gospel.  There  is  nothing  peculiar  to  the 
gospel  in  it.  Jesus,  in  his  use  of  it  (Matt.  22:  34-40; 
Mark  12:  28-34;  Luke  10:  25-28)  was  simply  replying 
to  the  question  of  a  lawyer:  "What  is  the  great  com- 
mandment of  the  law?"  He  answers:  "What  is  written 
in  the  law?  How  readest  thou?"  and  then  quotes  Deut. 
6:  5,  and  Lev.  19:  18,  giving  thereby  a  sunmiary  of 
the  law  from  itself.  To  this  the  lawyer  assents;  and 
so  every  Jew  acknowledges  these  words  of  Jesus  as 
valid,  jews,  Mohammedans,  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
any  pious  monotheist  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  would 
agree  to  this  summary  of  the  ethical  law.  It  might  be 
suitable  as  an  ethical  basis  for  a  syncretistic  religion, 
but  there  is  nothing  specifically  Christian  in  it.  The 
Christian  principle  of  love  is  infinitely  higher  than  this. 
It  is  Christlike  love  (John  13:  34;  15:  12);  Godlike 
love  (Matt.  5:  43-48) ;  self-sacrificing  love;  a  love  not 
merely  of  neighbors,  but  of  enemies  and  persecutors, 
seeking  above  all  things  their  salvation;  a  love  not 
measured  by  self,  but  by  God  and  Christ. 

2.  This  ethical  summary  of  the  law  given  by  Jesus 
is  based,  in  Deut.  6:  4  ff.  and  in  the  earliest  narrative 
of  this  conversation  with  the  lawyer,  Mark  12:  28-34, 
upon  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  faith  of  the  Jews : 
"Hear,  O  Israel;  the  Lord  (Yahweh)  our  God,  the 
Lord  is  One." 

This  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God  implies,  in  the 
original  passage,  and  in  the  universal  interpretation  of 
Jew,  Christian,  and  Mohammedan,  faith  in  the  reality, 
unity,  and  personality  of  God  as  the  God  of  love  and 
salvation,  excluding  every  kind  of  atheism,  polytheism, 
pantheism,  mere  deism,  and  agnosticism.  But  even  with 
these  excluded,  devout  monotheists  could  subscribe  to 

[7] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

this  faith,  and  there  is  nothing  specifically  Christian  in 
it.  The  God  of  the  Christian  is  not  only  the  God  of 
the  Old  Testament,  but  the  Father  of  his  only  Son 
Jesus  Christ.  There  can  be  no  Christianity  without 
Jesus  Christ.  No  one  can  be  a  Christian  and  be  entitled 
to  entrance  into  the  Christian  Church,  who  does  not 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour. 

This  was  required  of  the  apostles  themselves,  and  of 
all  Christians  from  the  beginning  until  the  present  day. 
Furthermore  this  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  Son  of  God, 
Saviour,  always  has  implied  that  he  is  the  divine 
Saviour.  Christianity  stands  for  this  as  its  essential 
principle,  without  which  it  could  not  be  Christianity  at 
all.  The  Koran  distinctly  recognizes  Moses  and  Christ 
as  prophets,  and  many  Jews  have  done  the  same.  If 
a  man  cannot  rise  above  the  humanity  of  Christ  to  his 
divinity,  he  cannot  be  entitled  to  membership  in  a  Chris- 
tian church.  The  Church  cannot  renounce  her  divine 
Saviour  without  renouncing  her  Christianity;  and  those 
who  cannot  accept  Christ  as  such,  cannot  be  admitted 
to  the  Church  without  unfaithfulness  on  the  part  of 
the  Church  itself. 

3.  The  apostles  were  conmianded  by  our  Lord  to 
wait  in  Jerusalem  for  the  coming  of  the  divine  Spirit 
upon  them  before  they  began  the  work  he  entrusted  to 
them  (Acts  1-2).  The  Christian  Church  is  built  on  the 
Pentecostal  gift  of  the  divine  Spirit.  Therefore  faith  in 
the  divine  Spirit  became  the  third  great  principle  of  the 
Christian  creed,  implying,  with  the  divine  Father  and 
divine  Son,  the  Christian  Trinity  in  unity.  Christianity 
is  now,  as  it  always  has  been,  trinitarian.  The  Church 
cannot  relinquish  her  trinitarian  creed  without  ceasing 
to  be  Christian.     Those  who  cannot  acknowledge  the 

[8] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

holy  Trinity,  have  no  right  or  title  in  the  Christian 
Church. 

4.  Our  Lord  recognized  with  the  Jews  the  divine 
inspiration  and  authority  of  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures. He  commissioned  his  apostles  to  teach  the  world 
his  gospel.  The  teachings  of  the  apostles,  as  recorded 
in  the  apostolic  writings  of  the  New  Testament,  have 
always  been  regarded  by  the  Christian  Church  as  alike 
divinely  inspired  and  authoritative  with  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Even  apostolic  tradition  unrecorded,  so  far  as 
it  can  be  authenticated,  has  been  regarded  as  authori- 
tative ;  although  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
measure  of  its  authority.  The  Bible  is  the  written  con- 
stitution of  the  Church,  which  it  cannot  lay  aside  with- 
out infidelity  to  the  divine  Master.  There  are  different 
theories  as  to  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures ;  but  these 
differences  do  not  involve  a  departure  from  the  apostolic 
doctrine  of  their  real  divine  authority  as  the  rule  of  faith 
and  practice. 

Those  who  cannot  accept  the  authority  of  the  Chris- 
tian Bible,  rule  themselves  out  of  membership  in  the 
Christian  Church. 

5.  Our  Lord  commissioned  his  apostles  to  organize 
his  Church,  to  admit  members  by  baptism  and  retain 
them  in  the  Christian  communion  by  participation  in 
the  eucharist ;  and  they  ordained  properly  qualified  men 
to  assist  them  and  to  succeed  them  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Church.  The  Church  has  always  had  an  ordained 
ministry,  and  the  two  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Any  church  that  divests  itself  of  these 
ceases  to  be  a  church;  and  if  any  one  unites  with  such 
a  society,  he  does  not  really  unite  with  the  Christian 
Church. 

[9] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

6.  The  Christian  Church  at  a  very  early  date  found 
it  necessary  to  instruct  converts  and  prepare  them  for 
holy  baptism.  The  Apostles'  Creed  was  formulated  as 
the  baptismal  creed,  which  all  Christian  churches  have 
confessed  from  the  early  second  century  until  the  pres- 
ent time.  It  gives  nothing  more  than  the  simplest 
teachings  of  Holy  Scripture ;  faith  in  the  three  persons 
of  the  holy  Trinity,  the  six  great  saving  acts  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  three  most  important  works  of  the  divine 
Spirit.  The  Christian  Church  cannot  put  aside  its 
Apostles'  Creed  simply  because  some  people  cannot 
reconcile  their  speculations  with  the  virgin  birth  of  our 
Lord  and  his  bodily  resurrection.  The  Church  may 
tolerate  those  who,  in  the  stress  of  modem  controversy, 
have  doubts  about  these  doctrines,  or  certain  explana- 
tions of  them  which  have  been  given.  But  these  doc- 
trines are  so  essential,  that  the  Church  could  not  reject 
them  without  ceasing  thereby  to  be  a  Christian  church. 

7.  The  Christian  Church  in  the  fourth  century  had 
to  define  the  faith,  taught  by  the  apostles  in  the  New 
Testament,  in  the  Holy  Trinity  and  the  incarnation, 
over  against  monarchian,  Arian,  and  semi-Arian,  Apol- 
linarian,  Nestorian  and  Eutychian  heresies.  The  Nicene 
Creed,  as  further  interpreted  in  the  Constantinopolitan 
and  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  was  com- 
posed for  this  purpose ;  and  the  Christian  Church  in  all 
its  divisions  has  stood  firmly  on  this  creed  ever  since. 
Its  statements  are  faithful  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  apostles;  and  the  Church  cannot  put  it 
aside  without  ceasing  to  be  Christian.  These  mon- 
archian theories  have  been  revived  by  modem  Ritsch- 
lians;  and  Arianism,  Apollinarianism,  Nestorianism, 
and  all  the  ancient  heresies,  by  various  modem  thinkers. 

[10] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  modern  Christian  Church  cannot  tolerate  them, 
any  more  than  could  the  ancient  and  medieval  Church ; 
because  they  undermine  and  destroy  Christianity  itself. 

It  is  significant  that  these  moderns  propose  no  new 
heresy,  no  new  explanation  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  and  of  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord.  It  is  quite 
evident  that  they  cannot.  The  debate  was  exhausted, 
and  settled  once  for  all  in  the  fourth  Christian  century; 
and  they  must  either  acquiesce,  or  separate  eventually 
from  the  Christian  Church.  I  do  not  mean  to  imply 
that  every  one  who  unites  with  the  Christian  Church 
should  fully  understand  these  great  mysteries.  It  is 
sufficient  that  they  accept  them,  as  the  teaching  of  the 
apostles  and  the  Church,  in  a  humble,  teachable  spirit. 
But  the  Church  cannot  lawfully  receive  and  tolerate 
those  who  deliberately  and  aggressively  reject  these 
doctrines. 

8.  Jesus  Christ  required  something  more  fundamen- 
tal still  than  these  ethical,  doctrinal  and  institutional 
principles;  namely,  regeneration  (John  3:  3-7)  and  a 
new  life  in  vital  union  with  him  (Gal.  2 :  20) ,  and  under 
the  guidance  of  the  divine  Spirit  (Gal.  5:  25).  The 
Church  often  fails  by  its  exaggeration  of  external  re- 
ligion and  its  comparative  neglect  of  vital  religion;  its 
undue  emphasis  upon  forms  in  the  direction  of  scholas- 
ticism, ecclesiasticism  and  ceremonialism,  often  at  the 
expense  of  vital  religion.  This  common  fault  is  due  to 
the  weakness  of  human  nature,  which  finds  an  external 
religion  easier  than  a  vital  and  spiritual  one. 

The  Church  has,  in  its  pity  for  poor  sinners,  been 
exceedingly  tolerant  as  regards  piety  and  morals,  and 
has  even  extended  that  toleration  to  the  ministry.  At 
the  same  time  it  has  often  been  exceedingly  rigid  in  its 

[11] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

formal  requirements.  The  Church  cannot  win  men  to 
Christ  by  lowering  the  Christian  ideal  to  that  of  the 
dominant  world-spirit  of  any  particular  period  of  his- 
tory, or  to  the  theories  of  any  set  of  men,  whether  they 
call  themselves  philosophers,  or  scientists,  or  men  of 
affairs.  It  is  the  vital  piety,  the  heroic  element  of  con- 
secration to  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  men,  and  faith- 
ful adherence  to  the  institutions  and  doctrines  of  Christ 
and  his  apostles  in  spite  of  every  obstacle,  that  alone 
will  satisfy  real  Christians.  Merely  nominal  Christians 
the  Church  has  no  use  for;  and  it  cannot  receive  them 
without  peril  to  them  and  to  itself.  It  was  the  faithful, 
heroic  Church  that  conquered  the  Roman  Empire,  not- 
withstanding centuries  of  oft-repeated  persecution. 
That  is  what  conquered  the  hordes  of  barbarians  that 
overran  the  empire  and  brought  on  what  are  known  as 
the  dark  ages.  That  is  what  enabled  Christianity  to 
resist  the  Mohammedan  domination  in  the  East,  and 
to  remain  faithful  for  centuries  in  the  midst  of  seem- 
ingly intolerable  situations. 

9.  It  is  quite  true  that  a  Christian  theology  cannot 
"be  unassailable  and  final  that  does  not  accord  with  the 
assured  results  of  science,"  and  that  "a  message  to  be 
effective  must  stand  for  and  teach  those  things  that  con- 
stitute the  sum  total  of  the  values  of  human  life,  what- 
ever their  source  may  be."  I  have  always  maintained 
that  position.  Indeed  it  is  the  statement  of  the  Council 
of  the  Vatican  with  which  all  Christian  Churches  agree : 

"But  although  faith  is  above  reason,  there  can  never 
be  any  real  discrepancy  between  faith  and  reason,  since 
the  same  God  who  reveals  mysteries  and  infuses  faith, 
has  bestowed  the  light  of  reason  on  the  human  mind; 
and  God  cannot  deny  himself,  nor  can  truth  ever  contra- 

[12] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

diet  truth.  The  false  appearance  of  such  a  contradic- 
tion is  mainly  due,  either  to  the  dogmas  of  faith  not 
having  been  understood  and  expounded  according  to 
the  mind  of  the  Church,  or  to  the  inventions  of  opinion 
having  been  taken  for  the  verdicts  of  reason." 

After  upwards  of  eighteen  centuries  of  fidelity  to 
the  Christian  faith  and  the  consensus  of  Christianity, 
both  in  doctrine  and  in  institution,  can  any  one  suppose 
that  the  Church  will  in  these  late  days  lower  its  stand- 
ard in  the  dust,  merely  to  adapt  itself  to  modem  the- 
orists, and  give  them  an  equal  place  in  her  ranks  with 
holy  apostles,  saints  and  martyrs?  What  great  pre- 
sumption these  modern  theorists  must  have  to  challenge 
this  consensus  of  Christianity  for  eighteen  centuries, 
because  it  cannot  be  reconciled  to  their  novelties.  Let 
them  first  win  consent  to  their  speculations  in  philos- 
ophy, science,  sociology,  and  other  departments  of  hu- 
man thought  and  life  from  competent  scholars  of  their 
own  calling,  before  they  dare  to  challenge  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Church  of  Christ  abides  firm  on  her 
everlasting  consensus;  and  these  modern  speculators, 
who  value  their  own  opinions  more  than  the  faith  of 
centuries,  can  do  nothing  more  than  undermine  the 
faith  of  the  weak  and  the  ignorant,  and  annoy  timid 
believers,  for  which  they  will  be  called  to  a  strict  account 
before  the  judgment  seat  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  well  known  that  I  have  contended  for  many 
years  for  liberty  of  opinion  and  practice  in  the  non- 
essentials of  Christianity,  for  the  reunion  of  Christ's 
Church  on  the  basis  of  its  historic  consensus,  for  charity 
in  all  things,  and  the  recognition  of  real  Christians  out- 
side of  the  organization  of  the  Church  in  various  heret- 
ical and  sectarian  bodies;  but  I  must  resist  the  ex- 

[13] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tension  of  liberty  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  office-holders 
of  the  historic  churches  into  the  realm  of  the  essentials ; 
for  these  constitute  the  historic  basis  upon  which  it  is 
alone  possible  to  reunite  Christ's  Church,  and  upon 
their  maintenance  depends  the  continued  existence  and 
extension  of  Christianity  itself. 


[14] 


SAMUEL  AUGUSTUS  BARNETT,  D.C.L., 

LONDON^   ENGLAND 

Late  Canon  of  Westminster  since  I906;  born  at  Bristol,  Feb; 
8,  1844;  died  at  Hove,  June  17,  1913;  educated  privately 
and  at  Wadham  College,  Oxford;  ordered  deacon  in  1867 
and  priested  in  the  following  year;  curate  of  St.  Mary's, 
London,  1867-72;  vicar  of  St.  Jude's,  Whitechapel,  1872- 
93;  curate  of  St.  Jude's,  1897-1903;  the  founder  and  first 
warden  of  Toynbee  Hall,  Whitechapel,  1884-1906;  presi- 
dent of  Toynbee  Hall  since  I906;  chairman  of  the  White- 
chapel Board  of  Guardians,  the  Children's  Coimtry  Holi- 
day Fund,  the  Pupil  Teachers'  Scholarship  Fund,  and 
the  Whitechapel  Art  Gallery  Trustees;  appointed  canon 
of  Bristol  Cathedral  in  1893;  select  preacher  at  Oxford, 
1896-97,  and  at  Cambridge,  19OO;  author  of  Practical 
Socialism  (with  Mrs.  Barnett) ;  Service  of  God;  Religion 
and  Progress;  Towards  Social  Reform. 

The  phrase  "comprehension  without  compromise"  de- 
scribes the  direction  which,  in  my  opinion,  would  lead 
to  the  best  results.  The  people  will  not  join  a  vague 
Church  such  as  Lincoln  suggests,  they  must  have  some- 
thing which  can  be  defined,  something  which  expresses 
truth  for  themselves,  something  they  can  die  for,  some- 
thing to  hold  "without  compromise."  At  the  same  time 
people  are  shocked  by  the  loss  which  comes  from  sect 
animosity ;  they  want  to  be  friends  with  those  who  differ, 
they  want  to  be  at  one  with  those  who  follow  not  with 
them,  they  want  "comprehension." 

If  all  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  Christ  could 
think  out  their  own  theology  and  then  act  with — even  at 
times  worship  with — others  who  with  the  same  profes- 
sion have  a  different  theology,  I  believe  the  Church 
would  make  greater  way.  This  variety  in  unity  would 
keep  the  Church  in  touch  with  scientific  and  artistic 
development. 

[15] 


GOTTLIEB    NATHANAEL    BONWETSCH, 

Th.D., 

GOTTINGEN,     GERMANY 

Professor  of  church  history  in  the  University  of  Gottingen 
since  1891;  born  at  Norka,  Russia,  Feb.  7,  1848;  edu- 
cated at  the  universities  of  Dorpat,  Gottingen  and  Bonn; 
privat-docent  and  docent  at  Dorpat,  1878;  associate  pro- 
fessor of  church  history,  1882;  full  professor  at  Dorpat, 
1883-1891 ;  author  of  Die  Schriften  Tertullians  untersucht; 
Die  Geschichte  des  Montanismus ;  JJnser  Reformator  Mar- 
tin  Luther;  Kyrill  and  Methodius,  die  Lehrer  der  Slaven; 
Methodius  von  Olympus;  Studien  zu  den  Kommentaren 
Hippolytus  sum  Buche  Daniel  und  Hohenliede;  Hippoly- 
tus  Werhe;  Die  Apokalypse  Abrahams,  Das  Testament 
der  vierzig  Mdrtyrer;  co-editor  of  Thomasius's  Dogmen- 
geschichte  der  alien  Kirche;  Studien  zur  Geschichte  der 
Theologie  und  Kirche;  and  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  edi- 
tions of  J.  H.  Kurtz's  Lehrbuch  der  Kirchengeschichte,  etc. 

To  "love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  would  indeed  be  a  splendid  stand- 
ard for  Christianity — if  I  had  in  me  the  fountain  of  such 
love.  But  such  love  is  found  only  in  the  love  of  God  as 
revealed  to  us  through  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore  the  only 
foundation  of  the  Church  to-day  must  be,  as  it  was  in 
the  days  of  the  apostles,  "Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yester- 
day, and  to-day,  and  forever"  (Heb.  13:  8).  Through 
him  alone,  in  spite  of  the  perversity  of  my  will  and  the 
gravity  of  death,  I  am  comforted  in  God.  This  abso- 
lute significance  of  Christ — ^not  identical  with  any  par- 
ticular formula — ^would  seem  to  contradict  scientific  re- 
lativism, but  it  is  the  mission  of  religion  to  save  us  from 
relativity,  and  just  because  of  this  our  natures  cannot 
do  without  religion.  No  progress  in  science  can  ever 
make  religion  superfluous.  A  satisfying  religion  is  per- 
sonal communion  with  God,  and  this  we  can  have  only, 
as  we  can  have  it  truly,  through  Jesus  Christ. 

[16] 


HENRY   SLOANE    COFFIN,   D.D., 

NEW   YORK,   N.   Y. 

Associate  professor  of  homiletics  at  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York,  since  1904,  and  pastor  of  the  Mad- 
ison Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  since  1905;  born  in 
New  York  City,  Jan.  5,  1877;  educated  at  Yale  University, 
New  College  (Edinburgh),  University  of  Edinburgh  and 
Union  Theological  Seminary;  ordained  to  the  Presbyterian 
ministry,  1900;  pastor  of  Bedford  Park  Presbyterian 
Church,  1900-5;  author  of  The  Creed  of  Jesus  and  Other 
Sermons;  Social  Aspects  of  the  Cross;  The  Christian  and 
the  Church;  Some  Social  Aspects  of  the  Gospel. 

You  begin  with  the  query,  "Why  is  it  that  there  are  so 
many  persons  who  are  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the 
Church?"  and  then  quote  from  Mr.  Lincoln  a  statement 
not  of  indifference,  but  of  incomplete  intellectual  agree- 
ment with  the  Church.  There  are  doubtless  a  good 
many  persons  who  hold  aloof  from  the  Church  because 
they  disagree  with  some  of  its  beliefs  or  supposed  be- 
liefs; but  this  is  certainly  not  the  sole  or  chief  cause  of 
indifference,  or  churches,  like  the  Unitarian,  which  have 
a  minimal  creed,  would  not  be  as  seriously  affected  as 
others.  In  fact  they  are  as  much  affected,  and  perhaps 
more.  Mr.  Lincoln  might,  on  his  own  terms,  have  en- 
tered the  conmiunion  of  almost  any  Protestant  church. 
In  his  statement  he  speaks  of  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour 
and  expresses  his  willingness  to  share  his  devotion  to 
God  and  man.  He  could  certainly  have  been  a  Pres- 
byterian, for  our  conmiunion  has  never  asked  more  than 
this  of  would-be  members,  and  I  imagine  that  he  would 
have  been  welcomed  on  his  own  basis  by  most  Protestant 
churches.    Were  the  main  point  of  your  letter  to  answer 

[17] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

its  first  question,  I  might  allege  many  more  potent 
reasons  for  the  indifference  on  the  part  of  numbers  of 
persons  to  the  claims  of  the  Church: — an  unawakened 
religious  sense,  an  undeveloped  conscience,  the  unad- 
mirable  characters  of  church-members,  dissatisfaction 
with  the  church's  timidity  or  ignorance  in  dealing  with 
social  injustice,  the  Church's  class-consciousness,  the 
dulness  of  many  preachers  and  church  services,  intense 
individualism  allowing  a  man  to  feel  satisfied  with  his 
personal  religion  while  he  keeps  apart  from  its  collective 
embodiment  in  an  organization,  etc.,  etc. 

You  next  ask,  speaking  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  statement : 
"Is  it  true  that  this  experience  is  typical  of  thousands 
of  others?"  It  probably  is;  but,  as  I  have  pointed  out, 
this  is  far  more  often  due  to  ignorance  of  what  the  quali- 
fications for  church  membership  actually  are,  than  to  too 
elaborate  doctrinal  requirements. 

Again,  you  ask:  "Do  you  think  it  wise  to  ask  the 
great  majority  of  people  to  subscribe  to  statements  that 
deal  with  debated  and  controversial  questions?"  Cer- 
tainly I  do  not;  nor  do  many  others.  A  sincere  ac- 
ceptance of  Jesus  as  Lord  is  all  that  any  church  has  a 
right  to  ask  of  those  seeking  to  enter  its  communion; 
and,  as  a  matter  of  practise,  any  man  willing  to  make 
this  statement,  or  Mr.  Lincoln's  statement,  will  find 
little  difficulty  in  becoming  a  member  of  most  Prot- 
estant churches.  I  should  personally  think  it  imfortu- 
nate  to  phrase  the  declaration  of  purpose  as  you  do 
(and  as  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not),  as  "a  common  purpose 
of  love  and  service  to  God  and  man,"  without  mention- 
ing Jesus.  Love  and  service  require  more  specific  def- 
inition as  Jesus'  love  and  service,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  con- 
nects them  with  him.     A  Christian  church,  as  distin- 

[18] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

guished  for  example  from  a  synagogue  of  Reformed 
Jews,  is  a  body  which  accepts  the  lordship  of  Jesus; 
and  a  personal  loyalty  to  him  is  an  indispensable  quali- 
fication of  fellowship.  This  Mr.  Lincoln  implies  plain- 
ly in  his  statement.  He  takes  Jesus'  summary  of  the 
law  and  the  gospel,  and  incidentally  speaks  of  Jesus  as 
"the  Saviour." 

This  brings  me  to  your  questions  concerning  a  fun- 
damental theology.  You  ask:  "Can  a  theology  be  un- 
assailable and  final  that  does  not  accord  with  the  assured 
results  of  science?"  I  reply.  No  theology  can  be  un- 
assailable or  final.  Any  theology  is  a  man's  best  at- 
tempt to  express  his  religious  convictions;  it  will  be 
necessarily  imperfect  and  so  assailable,  and  it  will  cer- 
tainly not  be  final,  for  theology  is  as  living,  and  there- 
fore as  growing,  as  any  other  science. 

Again  you  ask,  "In  what  way  is  it  to  be  related  to 
the  literary,  scientific  and  philosophical  certainties  of 
our  time?"  It  must  certainly  take  account  of  all  truth, 
and  avail  itself  of  all  accessible  knowledge  in  uttering 
its  convictions.  Theology  is  simply  the  attempt  to  ex- 
press men's  religious  experience  in  adequate  language, 
and  to  relate  it  to  all  his  other  experience.  No  man 
can  shut  up  his  creed  in  one  compartment  of  his  brain 
and  keep  the  rest  of  his  brain  open  to  welcome  literary, 
and  scientific,  and  philosophical  discoveries.  It  is  be- 
cause new  truths  are  being  discovered  in  these  and 
other  realms,  as  well  as  in  the  realm  of  religious  ex- 
perience, that  no  man  can  hope  to  arrive  at  a  final 
theology. 

This  brings  me  to  your  last  request,  for  an  expres- 
sion of  what  I  think  constitutes  a  theology  for  our  time. 
I  am  not  a  competent  theologian,  but  simply  a  preacher. 

[19] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

I  do  not  think  it  possible  or  desirable  that  any  man,  or 
any  body  of  men,  should  put  forth  a  creed  that  should 
be  binding  upon  their  fellow-Christians.  That,  to  me, 
is  the  fundamental  error  of  Roman  Catholicism.  It  is 
a  good  thing  that  the  Church  should  attempt  to  phrase 
its  convictions,  not  with  a  view  to  forcing  them  on  its 
adherents,  certainly  not  to  exclude  those  who  cannot 
give  them  their  intellectual  assent,  but  in  order  to  teach 
the  world  what  Christians  believe,  and  to  lead  the 
Church  into  larger  truth.  It  is  also  a  good  thing  for  the 
individual  member  to  try  to  make  out  his  own  creed,  and 
very  necessary  for  the  preacher  to  state  his,  and  to  keep 
restating  it  from  year  to  year  as  he  grows  in  religious 
experience.  I  hesitate  to  accede  to  your  request,  for  I 
feel  that  no  theology  of  mine  can  be  of  value  to  any  one 
else;  but  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  I  give  it 
merely  as  the  working  creed  of  a  pastor,  I  subjoin  the 
following: 

I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  according  to  the  Scriptures: 
in  the  authority  of  his  religious  experience  as  Son  of 
God;  in  the  supremacy  of  his  character  as  revealing 
what  God  is  and  what  man  may  become;  in  his  victory 
for  himself  and  for  us  over  the  world,  and  sin,  and 
death. 

I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
he  trusted,  loved  and  served :  that  he  is  my  Father  and 
the  Father  of  all  men ;  that  he  is  love  as  Christ  was  love ; 
that  he  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  whom  and 
through  whom  and  unto  whom  are  all  things;  and  that 
he  is  ever  present  in  his  Holy  Spirit,  striving  to  draw  all 
men  unto  himself  and  to  conform  them  to  the  likeness 
of  his  Son. 

I  believe  in  man  as  a  child  of  God:  that  he  is  capa- 
ble of  attaining  the  divine  sonship  realized  by  Christ, 
which  is  eternal  life;  that  all  men  are  brethren  one  of 

[20] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

another,  and  that  to  live  as  a  son  of  God  is  to  serve 
one's  brethren  as  Christ  served  them. 

I  believe  in  the  gospel  of  salvation :  that  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  his  sinning  children  unto  himself, 
and  that  whosoever  repents,  and  trustfully  commits 
himself  to  him,  is  freely  forgiven  and  enabled  more  and 
more  to  live  as  a  son  of  God. 

I  believe  in  the  kingdom  of  God — the  social  order 
in  which  love  is  supreme ;  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
— the  fellowship  of  all  his  followers  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom;  and  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  kingdom  in  glory  everlasting. 

This  is  by  no  means  a  complete  theology.  It  gives 
no  answer  to  scores  of  questions  which  a  thoughtful 
mind  must  raise.  It  purposefully  leaves  many  things 
indefinite.  I  do  not  think  a  creed  ought  to  aim  at  ex- 
haustive completeness;  it  must  be  agnostic  on  hosts  of 
subjects  if  it  is  to  be  honest.  This  brief  statement  ex- 
presses the  fundamental  convictions  which  I  attempt 
to  proclaim  to  men  and  women  who  share  the  literary 
and  scientific  and  philosophical  knowledge  of  our  day. 


[21] 


PHILIP   WENDELL   CRANNELL,   D.D., 

KANSAS   CITY,   KANSAS 

President  of  Kansas  City  Baptist  Theological  Seminary 
since  1903;  born  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  26,  1861;  edu- 
cated at  Albany  High  School,  Dartmouth  College,  and 
Rochester  Theological  Seminary;  principal  and  superin- 
tendent of  schools  at  Le  Raysville,  Pa.,  1882-83,  and 
Luverne,  Minn.,  1883-84;  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  Baldwinsville,  N.  Y.,  1888-94;  First  Baptist 
Church,  Corning,  N.  Y.,  1894-1900;  First  Baptist  Church, 
Topeka,  Kans.,  1900-1904;  professor  of  homiletics  and 
pastoral  theology  at  Kansas  City  Baptist  Theological  Sem- 
inary since  1902. 

AS  TO   SIMPLIFIED   CREEDS   AND   ADJUSTED 
THEOLOGIES 

There  are  really  four  questions  here:  First,  as  to  the 
place  of  creeds  at  the  entrance  to  our  churches ;  second, 
as  to  whether  Abraham  Lincoln's  or  any  similar  state- 
ment could  furnish  a  sufficient  basis  for  Church  unity 
or  Church  life ;  third,  as  to  whether  a  creed,  or  working 
program  can  be  found  sufficiently  definite  and  at 
the  same  time  sufficiently  elastic,  for  the  great  mass  of 
earnest  Christians  to  work  under  it;  and  fourth,  whether 
to  meet  the  modern  conditions  our  working  theology 
needs  to  be  modified  in  accordance  with  the  current 
thought  in  science,  philosophy  and  criticism. 

Touching  the  place  of  creeds  as  tests  of  church  mem- 
bership and  conditions  of  entrance,  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  very  many  people  are  now  kept  out  of  our  churches 
in  any  such  way.  Doctrinal  stiffness  is  no  sin  of  the 
present  hour.  A  distinction  must  be  made  between  the 
necessary  fidelity  of  any  given  denomination  to  the  great 

[22] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

fundamental  principles  which  constitute  what  it  believes 
to  be  its  trust  from  almighty  God,  and  the  requirements 
that  denomination  makes  of  those  who  would  enter  its 
ranks.  As  a  teaching  body,  and  of  its  teaching  force, 
the  Church  must  require  a  genuine  fidelity  to  its  prin- 
ciples, while  careful  not  to  push  its  demands  for  con- 
formity beyond  the  real  essentials.  The  test  for  mem- 
bership, however,  ought  to  be  not  intellectual,  but  vital 
and  spiritual.  Among  the  himdreds  whom,  as  a  Baptist 
minister,  I  have  led  into  the  churches  of  which  I  have 
been  pastor,  I  do  not  recall  one  case  where  any  theo- 
logical test  was  applied.  Our  one  anxiety  was  to  dis- 
cover whether  the  candidate  had  had,  and  was  then 
having,  a  genuine  "religious  experience"  of  regenerat- 
ing and  sanctifying  grace.  No  doubt  implicit  in  such  an 
experience  was  an  underlying  acceptance  of  the  doc- 
trines usually  called  evangelical,  but  the  vital  thing 
was  what  we  were  searching  for.  If  Abraham  Lincoln 
could  have  (without  anachronism)  appeared  before  us, 
giving,  as  it  is  my  belief  that  he  could,  really  credible 
evidence  that  he  had  been  "born  again,"  expressed  a 
wish  to  "follow  his  Lord  in  baptism"  and  a  determina- 
tion to  "learn  the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly," 
few  or  none  would  have  "said  him  nay."  If  after- 
ward becoming  a  teacher  in  the  Church,  he  had  pro- 
mulgated doctrines  radically  inconsistent  with  our  fun- 
damentals, fidelity  to  those  fundamentals  would  have 
compelled  us  to  withdraw  from  him  our  approval  as 
a  teacher,  and  if  as  a  member  he  continued  to  cause 
active  trouble  and  discussion  by  actively  advocating 
such  views,  it  might  have  been  a  duty  to  proceed  against 
him  as  a  disturber,  and  simply  as  a  disturber.  But  as 
one  of  "Christ's  little  ones,"  though  very  "strange,"  it 

[23] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

would  be  our  duty  to  retain  him  long.  Spirit,  and  not 
doctrine,  life  and  not  creed,  should  be  the  test  of  church 
membership.  Of  course  it  is  the  Church's  duty  gently 
to  lead  its  members  to  intelligent  discipleship. 

As  to  the  second  point,  Lincoln's  statement  is  utterly 
inadequate  for  the  purpose  proposed.  It  is  law  and 
not  gospel,  spiritual  law  so  searching  and  profound  that 
neither  Lincoln  nor  any  other  of  the  sons  of  men  could 
ever  attain  unto  it.  It  is  a  purely  intellectual  proposi- 
tion which  contains  in  itself  no  power  to  make  it  prac- 
tical and  real.  It  has  little,  if  any  more,  ability  to 
secure  its  own  following  than  has  some  lofty  canon  of 
art  or  literature  or  ethics.  Nor  can  the  possession  of 
a  common  ideal  unite  men  into  a  real  church,  but  rather 
the  constant  approach  to  that  ideal  through  the  power 
of  a  common  spiritual  life. 

Lincoln's  proposal  does  not  furnish  a  platform  and 
a  program  definite  enough  for  the  close-knit  relation- 
ships, strong  fellowships,  and  concerted  and  mutual 
sacrifices  and  enterprises  which  church  membership  im- 
plies. But  its  chief  and  absolutely  fatal  defect  is  that 
it  is  not  definitely,  clearly,  strongly  crystallized  about 
Jesus  Christ.  "Kuriake,"  "kyrke,"  "kirk,"  "church," 
mean  absolutely  "the  Lord's,"  and  that,  not  the 
"kurios"  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  the  "kurios"  (who 
is  the  same  "I  am")  of  the  New.  Nothing  can  be  "a 
church"  which  does  not  exist  definitely  for,  around, 
through,  by,  and  in  Jesus  Christ.  Love  for  him  is  its  mo- 
tive; obedience  to  him  is  its  law;  his  indwelling  through 
his  Spirit  is  its  life.  Compared  with  that  glorious  con- 
ception of  the  vine  and  the  branches,  of  the  body  and  the 
head,  of  the  temple  and  its  Indweller,  how  empty  and 
jejune  is  Lincoln's  statement!   For  how  infinitely  in- 

[24] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ferior  is  even  the  spiritual  "law"  of  the  New  Testament 
itself  to  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  What- 
ever "creed"  can  do,  the  extremely  little  that  any  creed 
can  do  to  unify  the  children  of  God  must  have  Christ 
as  its  center,  a  living  force  pulsating  through  every  de- 
tail to  its  remotest  circumference.  Can  such  a  unify- 
ing doctrine  and  program  be  found?  The  discovery 
draws  closer  every  hour.  It  does  not  tend  to  a  formal 
union  of  the  denominations,  which  for  a  long  time  yet 
will  not  be  either  practical  or  desirable.  But  in  one 
way  or  another  the  growth  of  agreement  as  to  funda- 
mentals goes  steadily  on.  In  the  past  we  have  mag- 
nified both  the  extent  and  importance  of  our  disagree- 
ments. Some  of  these  are  disappearing.  Others  are 
quietly  retiring  to  the  rear.  To  the  root  doctrines  of 
God,  the  deity  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  the  future  life  with  its  two 
destinies,  the  atonement  of  Jesus,  the  regeneration  of 
the  believer,  let  all  the  followers  of  Jesus  go  on  and 
add  the  liberty  of  the  single  soul,  the  sole  lordship  of 
Jesus,  the  independence  and  democracy  of  the  local 
church,  the  necessity  for  the  implanting  of  a  spiritual 
life  before  church  membership,  and  that  method  of 
formal  entrance  into  the  local  church  which  the  universal 
verdict  of  modem  scholarship  agrees  upon  as  being  of 
Christ's  institution,  if  he  instituted  any  Church  or  bap- 
tism at  all,  and  the  thing  is  done!  To  be  sure,  that 
is  the  Baptist  position.  But  as  in  so  many  ways,  the 
Christian  world  has  swung  over  to  that  position,  why 
should  it  not  now  come  the  whole  distance? 

Shall  we  modify  our  fundamental  theology  to  bring 
it  into  accord  with  the  present  state  of  thought — ^philo- 
sophical, scientific,  critical? 

[25] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

That  the  form  and  hue  and  flavor  of  our  religious 
thinking  and  life  is  and  must  be  affected  by  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  time,  as  rivers  take  their  hue  from  the 
soil  through  which  they  flow,  is  indubitable.  And  it 
ought  to  make  us  hesitate  to  modify  the  fundamentals, 
since  a  new  adjustment  would  be  necessary  in  the  com- 
ing age.  In  our  present  adjustment  to  the  Copernican 
universe  instead  of  the  Ptolemaic,  we  are  not  likely  to 
have  to  shift  again,  but  the  changes  which  are  taking 
place  in  the  scientific  conceptions  of  the  ultimate  con- 
stitution of  matter  may  well  make  us  pause  before  we 
abandon  any  essential  or  fundamental  article  of  faith 
at  the  behest  of  any  far-reaching  scientific  theory  of 
the  universe.  Philosophy  has  assumed  so  many  Protean 
shapes  within  the  past  few  years  that  the  effort  to 
adjust  to  that  would  keep  us  in  a  continual  flux.  The 
literary  and  historical  criticism  of  the  Scriptures,  Old 
and  New,  has  brought  many  precious  gains  in  breadth 
of  view  and  vividness  of  apprehension,  but  its  con- 
clusions are  yet  subject  to  many  revisions  which  will 
greatly  change  them.  And  on  the  showing  of  the 
reverent  critics  of  even  the  somewhat  advanced  school, 
what  essential  doctrine  stands  in  need  of  modifica- 
tion? Does  the  personality  of  God,  the  deity  of  Jesus, 
the  religious  value  of  the  Bible,  the  atonement,  the 
power  of  the  indwelling  Christ  to  transform  the  life, 
the  life  after  death?  While  some  of  us  fear  that  too 
many  and  some  rather  dangerous  concessions  in  details 
have  been  made  by  reverent  students,  still,  as  they  do 
not  feel  the  necessity  for  any  fundamental  changes  on 
their  part,  we  cannot  see  any  need  for  it  on  ours. 

And  these  fundamental  doctrines  are  so  witnessed 
by  the  Christian  experience  of  all  the  past,  so  corrob- 

[26] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

orated  by  our  own,  that  any  modification  must  needs 
be  minor.  We  simply  need  to  distinguish  between  the 
handful  of  great  rock-foundation  facts  of  our  religion, 
and  the  theologies  which  have  grown  up  beyond  those 
facts,  or  around  them,  in  the  endeavor  to  explain  or 
relate  them.  It  would  be  folly  to  ignore,  or  despise,  or 
neglect  those  theologies  wholly.  We  must  "theologize" 
or  die,  mentally  and  spiritually ;  our  minds  crave  reason 
and  must  have  system.  But  truths  are  more  than  sys- 
tems. The  great  facts  we  can  and  must  retain  with 
a  grip  that  cannot  be  unloosed.  The  theologies  we 
can  well  hold  more  or  less  tentatively,  using  whatever 
new  light  or  fresh  molds  of  thought  our  day  may 
furnish,  but  being  very  sure  that  no  present  phase  of 
thought,  any  more  than  any  present  theology,  is  cer- 
tainly final. 


[27] 


SIE  DYCE   DUCKWORTH,   Bart., 
M.D.,  LL.D., 

LONDON^  ENGLAND 

Consulting  physician  to  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  Lon- 
don, England;  senior  physician,  Seamen's  Hospital,  Green- 
wich; member  of  court.  University  of  Liverpool;  born  at 
Liverpool,  Nov.  24,  1840;  educated  at  the  Royal  Institution 
School,  Liverpool,  Edinburgh  University,  and  St.  Barthol- 
omew's Hospital;  Member  Convocation,  Queen's  Univer- 
sity, Belfast;  assistant  surgeon.  Royal  Navy,  1864-65; 
Treasurer  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  since  1884; 
Senior  Censor,  1903-4;  representative  of  Royal  College  of 
Physicians  in  General  Medical  Council,  1886-91;  author 
of  numerous  contributions  to  medical  literature,  addresses, 
etc. 

Me.  Abraham  Lincoln's  formula  for  church  mem- 
bership is  certainly  not  sufficiently  explicit  or  definite 
enough,  and  leaves  unconsidered  several  matters  which 
every  convinced  Christian  must  afiirm  and  give  his  con- 
sent to. 

There  are,  alas,  many  churches  not  Christian.  I 
note,  first,  that  the  word  Christianity  is  not  mentioned 
in  your  prospectus.  Secondly,  that  no  allusion  is  made 
to  Jesus  Christ,  who  uttered  and  enforced  the  precept 
in  his  Father's  law,  which  you  suggest  as  the  sole  basis 
for  universal  churchmanship. 

Assuming  that  you  accept  Christianity  as  the  fun- 
damental fact  in  your  suggested  formula,  I  think  that 
you  have  left  out  the  essential  figure  in  the  whole  matter 
— the  divine  God-man,  who  was  sent  into  this  world 
by  our  Father,  the  great  All  in  all,  in  order  to  teach 
man  for  all  time  how  to  live  and  how  to  die.  According 
to  Christian  belief,  everything  for  humanity,  here  and 

[28] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

hereafter,  depends  on  the  manifestation,  birth,  life, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  in  this 
world.  His  teaching  reenforced  the  divine  law,  and  ren- 
dered it  easy  for  wayward  man  to  keep  it  as  the  law 
of  his  life. 

The  Christian  faith  is,  happily,  a  very  simple  matter, 
and  is,  and  ever  will  be,  outside  all  theological  doctrines 
and  disputes  of  man,  learned  or  unlearned.  It  only 
requires  to  be  tried  to  prove  its  power  and  certainty. 
If  it  is  to  be  of  any  avail  for  fallen  man,  it  must  be,  and 
it  truly  is,  readily  understood,  and  can  be  used,  by  all 
mankind  the  world  over.  Faith  can  be  secured  only  by 
living  the  Christ-life,  and  by  earnest  prayer.  It  is  not 
mere  credulity. 

The  divinity  then  of  the  second  person  in  the  holy 
Trinity  is  the  essential  feature  of  Christianity,  and  with- 
out a  full  recognition  of  this  I  recognize  no  "universal 
Church"  for  our  humanity.  This  is  the  only  basis  that 
commends  itself  to  me,  and  I  am  entirely  satisfied  with 
the  beliefs  and  the  faith  that  have  sustained  the  lives  of 
martyrs,  saints,  the  best  people  that  I  have  ever  known, 
and  brought  the  only  comfort  and  satisfaction  to  many 
of  the  death-beds  I  have  witnessed.  The  faith  which 
sufficed  for  Kelvin  and  Pasteur  is  surely  good  enough 
for  all  scientists  to  hold,  and  that  was  the  simple  Chris- 
tian faith. 

In  my  belief,  the  only  basis  for  a  fundamental  the- 
ology of  the  Church  is  the  thorough  conviction  of  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  thank  God  that  that  is  suffi- 
cient for  all  men  for  all  time.  This  signifies  no  less 
than  the  firm  belief  that  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
was  a  manifestation  to  mankind  of  the  real  nature  of 
God,  his  Father  and  our  Father. 

[29] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

We  are  in  no  need  of  a  new  church  or  a  new  creed. 
There  are  too  many  of  these  already.  Neither  do  we 
need  a  new  theology,  I  do  not  agree  with  your  sug- 
gestion that  Mr.  Lincoln's  experience  is  "typical  of 
the  views  of  thousands  of  others."  [The  words  used  in 
our  letter  (see  introduction)  were  "Is  it  true  that  this 
experience  is  typical  of  thousands  of  others?" — ^the 
EDITORS.]  This  may  be  the  case  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  where,  as  I  found  for  myself,  religion — so- 
called — ^is  more  than  in  this  country  broken  up  into 
multitudinous  bodies,  largely  officered  and  supported  by 
persons  of  ill-informed,  unfaithful,  or  unstable  minds. 

In  this  country,  at  all  events,  I  have  come  to  regard 
indifference  to  any  serious  thinking,  and  the  living  of 
irreligious  and  ease-loving  lives,  as  the  main  things 
which  are  wrong  with  nominally  Christian  people.  What 
I  feel  most  sure  of  is  that  if  people  would  simply  live 
the  Christian  life  and  practise  it  daily,  they  would  cer- 
tainly "come  to  know  the  doctrine,"  and  would  find  no 
need  to  vex  themselves  over  "debated  and  controversial 
questions."  Neither  theology  nor  science,  per  se,  will 
ever  upset  the  simple  Christian  faith  and  teaching. 
God,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  third  person  in  the  blessed 
Trinity,  can  only  assimilate  himself  with  the  inborn 
spirit  of  man  in  response  to  prayer  and  a  holy  life.  The- 
ology and  science  by  themselves  can  never  accomplish 
this,  or  satisfy  the  instincts  of  man  made  in  the  likeness 
of  God. 

The  claims  of  the  holy  Catholic  Chiu'ch  will  not  fail 
to  appeal  powerfully  to  those  who  hold  the  Christian 
faith  and  its  doctrines  and  carry  them  into  daily  prac- 
tise. 


[30] 


EBENEZER    GRIFFITH-JONES,    D.D., 

BRADFORD,   ENGLAND 

Principal  of  Yorkshire  United  Independent  College  since 
1907;  born  at  Merthyr-Tydvil,  South  Wales,  in  I860;  ed- 
ucated for  the  Congregational  ministry  at  the  Presbyterian 
College,  Carmarthen,  1875-78  and  New  College,  London, 
1880-85;  junior  master  at  Normal  College,  Swansea, 
1878-80;  has  held  pastorates  at  St.  John's  Wood,  London, 
1885-87;  Llanelly,  Wales,  1887-90;  Mount  View,  Stroud 
Green,  London,  1890-98;  Balham,  London,  1898-1907; 
author  of  The  Ascent  Through  Christ;  Types  of  Christian 
Life;  The  Master  and  His  Method;  The  Economics  of 
Jesus;  Faith  and  Verification. 

WHY   ARE    SO    MANY   INDIFFERENT   TO 
THE    CHURCHES? 

Abraham  Lincoln^s  celebrated  saying  is  one  of  those 
obvious  but  inconclusive  utterances  that  hinder  more 
than  they  help  the  cause  of  clear  thinking.  I  heartily 
sympathize  with  the  first  part,  in  which  long  and  com- 
plicated statements  of  Christian  doctrine  as  a  basis  for 
religious  faith  and  fellowship  are  declared  to  stand  in 
the  way  of  many  earnest-minded  people  joining  the 
churches  that  demand  such  tests.  I  do  not,  however, 
know  of  any  churches  on  this  side  of  the  water  which 
do  this  nowadays,  whatever  may  have  been  the  case  half 
a  century  ago.  The  trouble  we  seem  to  be  suffering 
from  in  England  just  now  is  rather  in  the  other  direc- 
tion. It  is  the  vagueness  of  the  position  taken  up  by 
religious  teachers  which  is  complained  of  by  many  who 
refuse  to  join  us.  Personally  I  believe  that  more  peo- 
ple are  keeping  away  from  us  for  this  reason  than  for 
the  opposite.    A  vague  creed  always  makes  lukewarm 

[31] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

disciples.  Why,  if  Lincoln  suggests  the  true  basis  of 
a  church,  has  no  one  ever  thought  it  worth  while  to 
found  a  church  on  such  a  basis?  There  has  been  per- 
fect liberty  for  a  long  while  for  any  one  to  do  this 
if  so  disposed.  It  is  indeed  a  remarkable  fact  that  while 
our  Lord's  saying  is  a  matchless  statement  of  the  cen- 
tral law  of  life,  no  one  has  ever  founded  a  church  on  it 
as  a  credal  basis.  That  is  probably  because,  while 
ostensibly  avoiding  a  credal  basis,  it  does  not  really 
do  so.  As  a  matter  of  fact  a  very  large  creed  lies 
implicit  in  this  condensed  statement  of  the  substance 
of  the  law  and  the  gospel.  It  presupposes  the  per- 
sonality, holiness,  lovableness,  and  nearness  of  God — 
facts  which  demand  a  very  large  draft  on  the  "bank  of 
faith."  It  also  presupposes  the  inalienable  value  and 
spiritual  significance  of  every  human  being.  These 
beliefs  have  been  historically  substantiated,  and  so  made 
accessible  for  faith  through  the  progressive  revelation 
embodied  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  culminating 
finally  in  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  which  is  the 
ultimate  guarantee  of  both  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
God  and  of  man.  Lincoln's  saying  thus  presupposes 
the  Christian  creed  practically  in  its  entirety.  Is  it  not 
best  that  this  fact  should  be  fairly  faced  and  acknowl- 
edged? 

The  answer  to  the  second  question  (the  natural 
corollary  of  the  first) — ^What  should  be  the  basis  and 
direction  for  the  fundamental  theology  of  the  Church? — 
follows  naturally  from  what  has  just  been  said.  The 
only  valid  basis  for  such  a  church  is  the  revelation  of 
God's  will  and  purpose  for  man  in  the  perfect  life,  the 
atoning  death,  and  the  resurrection-life  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.    Every  historic  church  that  has  had  any 

[32] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

independent  vitality  and  power  of  persistence  has  been 
founded  on  this  basis  in  the  past,  and  I  see  no  prospect 
whatever  that  it  will  be  otherwise  in  the  future.  It 
has  always  struck  me  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  while  it 
is  open  for  any  enthusiast  for  a  "simpler  creed"  to  initi- 
ate a  church  on  his  own  lines,  the  practical  impulse  to 
do  so  seems  lacking.  The  reason  why  the  churches  that 
do  exist  are  at  present  failing  to  reach  the  masses  is  be- 
cause their  faith  in  the  historic  creed  is  in  a  weak  and 
anemic  state.  This  may  be  inevitable  under  present 
conditions,  but  till  a  fresh  realization  of  the  central  fact 
that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self comes  home  to  us,  it  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  re- 
cover lost  ground,  much  less  make  fresh  headway.  We 
are  living  largely  on  our  past. 

The  present  tendency  to  conciliate  non-believers  by 
attenuating  our  credal  basis  to  the  level  of  their  inability 
to  accept  it  in  its  fulness,  is  in  my  judgment  a  disastrous 
mistake.  What  we  need  is  to  restate  the  Christian  re- 
ligion in  its  fulness  in  terms  that  are  true  to  the  con- 
ditions of  present-day  thought.  Faith  thrives  not  on  a 
minimum,  but  on  a  maximum  creed.  Not  how  little 
must  we  believe  in  order  to  be  Christians,  but  how  much 
can  we  believe,  is  the  question  we  should  ask,  if  our 
spiritual  life  is  to  be  strong  and  happy.  This  puts  a 
heavy  burden  on  our  present-day  apologists  and  theo- 
logians, for  it  is  their  business  so  to  retranslate  the  his- 
toric faith  into  terms  of  present-day  thinking,  that  it 
shall  appeal  to  every  thoughtful  man.  The  task,  how- 
ever, if  great  is  noble,  and  the  reward  when  done  will  be 
immense,  for  there  has  never  been  an  age  when  a  revital- 
ized faith  would  transform  life  so  radically,  or  bring 
more  glorious  results  in  its  train. 

[33] 


EDWARD  JOHN   HAMILTON,  D.D.,  S.T.D., 

PLAINFIELD^    N.    J. 

Born  at  Belfast,  Ireland,  Nov.  29,  1834;  graduated  from 
Hanover  College,  Hanover,  Ind.,  1853,  and  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  1858;  ordained  to  the  Presbyterian 
ministry,  1858;  pastor  at  Oyster  Bay,  L.  I.,  1858-61;  in 
charge  of  a  congregation  at  Dromore,  West,  Ireland, 
1861-62;  chaplain  of  the  Seventh  New  Jersey  Veteran  In- 
fantry in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  1863-65;  pastor  at 
Hamilton,  O.,  1866-68;  professor  of  mental  philosophy, 
Hanover  College,  1868-79;  acting  professor  of  ethics, 
economics,  and  logic  in  Princeton  College,  1882-83; 
professor  of  philosophy,  Hamilton  College,  1883-91;  on 
the  staff  of  the  Standard  Dictionary,  1891-94;  professor 
of  philosophy,  Whitworth  College,  1894-95;  and  of  the 
same  subject.  State  University  of  Washington,  1895-1900; 
retired  from  active  life;  author  of  A  New  Analysis  in  Fun- 
damental Morals;  The  Human  Mind;  The  Modalist;  The 
Perceptionalist:  or.  Mental  Science;  The  Moral  Law:  or. 
The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Duty;  Perzeptionalismus  und 
Modalismus,  eine  Erkenntnistheorie;  Erkennen  und  Sch- 
lissen,  eine  theoretische  Logik. 

CHURCH    MEMBERSHIP    AND    CREEDS 

The  writer,  who  is  a  minister  of  "the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  United  States  of  America,"  speaks  en- 
tirely on  his  own  responsibility,  yet  he  is  confident  that 
his  opinions  do  not  differ  much,  if  at  all,  from  those 
commonly  held  by  that  large  body  of  professed  Chris- 
tians. Possibly  some  subordinate  statements  or  expla- 
nations may  be  his  own,  but  any  such  will  be  intended 
not  to  weaken,  but  to  confirm  the  general  Presbyterian 
position. 

First  we  desire  to  disabuse  any  mind  of  the  impres- 
sion that  the  Presbyterian  Church  requires  of  its  mem- 
bers the  adoption  of  any  denominational  creed.     Our 

[34] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

doors  are  open  to  all  who  profess  their  belief  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  and  who  solemnly  declare  their  intention  to  live 
in  accordance  with  that  belief.  So  soon  as  one  realizes 
that  he  needs  the  forgiveness  and  grace  offered  in  the 
gospel  and  is  earnestly  set  on  living  a  Christian  life,  we 
Presbyierians  believe  that  he  is  fit  for  membership  in 
any  Christian  organization  and  heartily  welcome  him 
into  our  communion.  When,  however,  the  Church  of 
God  is  regarded  as  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth, 
or  any  denomination  of  it  as  a  body  instituted  to  pro- 
mote right  views  and  principles  among  men,  another 
case  arises.  We  naturally  expect  from  the  wisdom  of 
such  a  body  more  or  less  formal  instruction  in  regard  to 
points  both  of  doctrine  and  of  practise,  not  indeed  that 
ecclesiastical  deliverances  should  ever  be  binding  upon 
the  mind  and  conscience,  but  only  that  free  private 
judgment  may  receive  any  assistance  to  be  derived  from 
the  deliberate  collective  judgment  of  the  Church.  More- 
over, when  the  qualifications  of  men  to  be  ordained  as 
ministers  of  the  gospel  are  to  be  passed  upon,  we  deem 
it  right  that  candidates  should  be  examined  in  respect 
to  all  those  teachmgs  of  Christianity  which  conduce  to 
the  best  edification  of  God's  people.  It  certainly  would 
not  be  wise  formally  to  set  apart  young  men  to  be 
preachers  if  they  were  not  well  acquainted  with  religious 
doctrines,  or  if  they  were  likely  to  mingle  serious  error 
with  their  teachings.  Then,  too,  the  question  arises  as 
to  the  honorable  recognition  of  ministers  of  the  gospel 
in  general  and  as  to  friendly  cooperation  with  them, 
whether  they  belong  to  one's  own  denomination  or  not. 
For,  however  we  may  differ  from  others  in  matters  of 
faith,  we  should  cherish  hearty  fellowship  with  all  whom 

[35] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christ  has  received  and  who  are  laboring  to  extend  his 
kingdom  in  the  world. 

These  things  being  so,  it  is  evident  that  the  use  of 
creeds  or  forms  of  confession  is  not  a  matter  to  be  de- 
termined by  one  simple  rule,  as  if  there  were  only  one 
case  to  be  considered;  on  the  contrary,  the  situation 
calls  for  a  thoughtful  reply  to  at  least  four  important 
questions.  We  ask,  first,  what  declaration  of  faith  may 
be  expected  as  a  condition  of  church  membership?  Sec- 
ondly, what  function  may  a  general  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cil assume  in  declaring  and  interpreting  Christian  doc- 
trine? Third,  what  statements  of  belief  should  the 
authorities  of  a  church  require  from  those  who  are  seek- 
ing the  office  of  the  sacred  ministry?  And  fourth,  what 
rule  should  govern  our  attitude  toward  all  those  who 
not  only  are  professed  followers  of  Christ,  but  are  also 
devoting  their  lives  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel?  The 
topics  submitted  to  the  symposium  relate  more  to  the 
first  and  fourth  of  the  foregoing  questions  than  to  the 
second  and  third,  yet  it  will  contribute  to  clearness  of 
understanding  if  we  consider  briefly  each  of  the  four 
points  just  mentioned. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  does  not  require  of  its 
members  the  adoption  of  any  denominational  creed;  nor 
indeed  does  it  call  for  the  acceptance  of  any  formal  creed 
at  all.  Some  individual  churches  may  use  simple  doc- 
trinal confessions,  but  this  is  not  common  among  us,  as 
it  is  with  the  Congregationalists ;  such  confessions  are, 
however,  not  conditions  of  membership  prescribed  by 
ecclesiastical  authority;  they  are  rather  helps  given  to 
the  candidate  for  the  clearer  expression  of  his  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  and  our  loving 
Saviour.    If  any  one  should  prefer  to  express  his  faith 

[36] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  other  words  than  in  the  formula  provided,  he  would 
be  at  liberty  to  do  so. 

Besides,  as  already  stated,  for  the  most  part,  no 
formula  is  used  by  the  Presbyterians.  What  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Church  chiefly  desire  to  know  is  not  whether 
the  applicant  understands  the  gospel  offer  of  salvation, 
but  whether  he  has  heartily  accepted  of  that  offer  and 
whether  he  has  resolved  to  become  a  follower  of  Christ 
and  to  live  a  life  of  new  obedience.  For  the  faith  which 
saves  the  soul  is  not  the  mere  intellectual  acceptance 
of  any  truth  however  important;  it  is  the  practical 
adoption  and  realization  of  the  gospel  as  the  law  of  one's 
experience  and  conduct.  If  we  were  asked  to  state  in 
two  sentences  that  profession  of  faith  which  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  expects  from  its  members,  they  would 
be  as  follows.  The  first  declaration  alone,  indeed, 
might  be  taken  as  a  complete  confession,  but  the  second 
is  added  to  show  that  the  faith  professed  is  not  to  be 
a  mere  speculative  assent  but  a  deep  operative  convic- 
tion: 1.  I  believe  that  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  2.  I 
accept  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  my  personal  Saviour, 
and  am  resolved,  with  the  help  of  God,  hereafter  to 
abjure  all  evil  ways,  and  to  live  according  to  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself 
for  me. 

Of  creeds  and  doctrinal  deliverances  by  general 
church  councils  or  judicatories,  we  have  this  to  say:  No 
one  can  dispute  the  right,  and  we  believe  we  all  should 
recognize  the  duty,  of  the  Church  to  set  forth  in  a  formal 
way  those  views  of  truth  upon  which  its  wisest  and  best 
men  have  agreed  after  prayerful  and  studious  consider- 

[37] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ation.  Some  doctrines  of  Christianity  are  quite  plain 
and  obvious,  but  others  are  abstruse  and  liable  to  be 
misunderstood;  besides  even  those  which  are  the  most 
evident  and  comprehensible  are  sometimes  obscured  by 
plausible  arguments,  which  originate  mostly  in  false 
theories  of  nature,  of  life  or  of  morals.  Moreover  in 
the  wisdom  of  the  Almighty  truth  is  not  revealed  to  the 
human  mind  in  an  abstract  and  systematic  form,  but 
in  the  separate  concrete  manifestations  of  creation  and 
providence.  It  is  the  office  of  the  analytic  and  synthetic 
power  of  reason  to  ascertain  and  to  coordinate  the  laws 
of  nature  and  of  the  divine  government.  Even  the 
sacred  Scriptures  do  not  contain  any  formal  system 
either  of  theology  or  of  ethics,  but  rather  give  us  facts 
and  examples,  rules  and  laws,  which  should  be  carefully 
studied,  compared  and  construed  together,  and  upon 
which  we  have  the  right  reverently  to  philosophize. 

The  various  creeds  and  confessions  of  the  Church, 
whether  in  ancient  or  modem  times,  were  intended  as 
methodical  statements  of  Christian  truth,  as  this  was 
seen  by  the  fathers  assembled  in  solemn  council.  It  is 
to  be  acknowledged  that  excessive  claims  of  authority 
were  sometimes  made — and  are  even  yet  made — for 
some  of  these  confessions  as  if  they  were  absolutely  in- 
fallible. But  Presbyterians,  and  most  Protestants,  re- 
gard creeds  and  confessions  not  at  all  as  binding  upon 
one's  acceptance  but  simply  as  aids  to  the  understanding 
and  acceptance  of  the  truth.  For  man  is  not  blessed 
because  he  believes  that  the  Church  understands  and 
believes  the  truth,  but  because  he  himself  understands 
and  believes  it;  nor  is  it  possible  for  a  rational  being 
truly  to  accept  any  statement  which  is  unintelligible 
to  him  or  for  which  no  adequate  evidence  appears.    For 

[38] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

this  reason  we  find  an  obscurity  in  the  words  of  the 
venerable  Cardinal  Gibbons  when  he  said  lately,  "The 
mission  of  the  Church  is  to  defuie  faith  and  morals.  In 
other  matters  individuals  decide  for  themselves."  The 
mission  of  the  Church  is  indeed  to  express  clear  views 
respecting  faith  and  morals,  but  in  doing  so  the  Church 
does  not  decide  for  the  individual  but  only  seeks  to 
aid  him  in  deciding  for  himself.  In  the  Presbyterian 
Church  no  blame  attaches  to  any  one  who  does  not  be- 
lieve some  doctrine  of  our  Confession,  either  because  he 
does  not  understand  it,  or  because  with  the  understand- 
ing which  he  has  of  it,  he  thinks  it  contrary  to  fact  and 
reason. 

As  regards  those  who  would  become  ministers  of 
the  word  and  official  expounders  of  God's  truth,  Pres- 
byterians naturally  demand  higher  doctrinal  attain- 
ments than  can  be  required  for  simple  membership  in 
the  Church  or  even  for  participation  in  its  subordinate 
activities.  Formerly  our  ministers  were  asked  to  sub- 
scribe to  the  whole  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith, 
but  that  is  no  longer  the  case.  It  is  now  deemed  suffi- 
cient that  one  declare  his  approval  of  the  "system  of 
doctrines  contained"  in  that  Confession,  by  which  sys- 
tem we  are  chiefly  to  understand  what  are  known  as 
"the  doctrines  of  grace."  These  contemplate  the  hu- 
man family  as  hopelessly  lost,  were  it  not  for  the  in- 
tervention of  divine  help  and  mercy.  While  man  is — 
and  must  be — active  in  his  own  salvation,  his  efforts 
would  be  unavailing  without  aid  from  heaven.  And 
even  the  first  beginnings  of  the  Christian  life  are  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  For 
it  is  God  that  worketh  in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
own  good  pleasure.    All  the  doctrines  of  grace  are  in- 

[39] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

volved  in  the  one  thought  of  man's  utter  dependence 
on  God  as  the  source  of  spiritual  good. 

Yet  while  Presbjiierian  ministers  assent  to  a  given 
system  of  doctrines,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  a  certain 
liberty  belongs  to  each  of  them  to  interpret  every  doc- 
trine in  his  own  way.  This  arises  because  of  a  distinc- 
tion which  can  easily  be  made  between  a  dogmatic 
statement  and  the  reason  for  it  or  the  explanation  of  it. 
For  example,  the  present  writer  sees  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  all  men  will  be  saved.  Such  a  result  may  be 
impossible  in  the  very  nature  of  things.  But  he  be- 
lieves that  the  divine  aim  and  purpose  is  that  as  many 
men  as  possible  shall  be  saved.  He  does  not  believe 
that  the  present  condition  of  our  race,  who  are  born 
sinful  beings  into  a  world  of  sin  and  suffering,  should 
be  regarded  as  a  punishment  inflicted  on  them  because 
of  Adam's  first  transgression ;  yet  he  perceives  in  this  a 
righteous  legal  consequence  of  the  trial  which  human 
nature  had  in  our  first  forefather.  He  does  not  believe 
that  Christ  literally  bore  the  guilt  of  our  sins  when  he 
died  upon  the  cross.  Guilt  is  not  a  thing  transferable. 
But  he  does  hold  that  our  Lord's  sufferings  were 
vicarious  in  the  sense  that  they  justify  the  cancellation 
of  guilt — the  forgiveness  of  sin — in  the  case  of  all  peni- 
tent believers  in  God's  mercy. 

Together  with  this  freedom  in  the  interpretation  of 
doctrines,  which  at  the  same  time  are  sincerely  and  hon- 
estly accepted,  there  is  also  noticeable  in  Presbyterian 
judicatories  a  certain  relaxation  in  special  cases  of  the 
terms  of  admission  to  the  ministry.  It  is  the  part  of 
a  wise  man  to  govern  by  rules,  yet  not  to  be  himself 
absolutely  governed  by  them.  Ordinarily  candidates 
for  the  ministry  must  fulfil  all  requirements.    Never- 

[40] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

theless  Presbyteries  sometimes  ordain  a  man  to  be 
a  preacher  or  a  missionary  when  he  has  not  had  that 
education  which  is  commonly  a  prerequisite.  Occa- 
sionally too  a  faithful  and  able  minister  of  the  gospel 
may  be  received  into  our  communion  and  installed  as  a 
pastor,  even  though  from  the  Presbyterian  point  of 
view,  he  may  be  somewhat  doctrinally  deficient.  The 
paramount  questions  in  such  a  case  are:  What  is  the 
best  thing  to  do  in  the  interests  of  God's  kingdom?  and: 
Does  the  present  case  really  justify  any  departure  from 
our  ordinary  regulations? 

With  regard  to  ministers  of  other  denominations 
Presbyterians  cultivate  fraternal  relations  with  all  who 
preach  Christ  and  him  crucified  as  the  Son  of  God  and 
the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Such  ministers  are  sometimes 
distinguished  as  "evangelical,"  because  they  preach  the 
gospel  as  it  is  plainly  set  forth  in  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
Evidently  fellowship  with  them  is  not  based  on  any 
formal  creed  but  only  on  that  simple  profession  of  faith 
which  admits  to  membership  in  Presbyterian  and  other 
churches.  But  while  the  acknowledgment  of  Christ  as 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  is  the  sufficient  ground  of  gen- 
eral ministerial  fellowship,  all  preachers  of  the  word 
are  held  in  special  honor,  because  they  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  a  sacred  calling,  and  because  they  may  be 
supposed  to  have  progressed  further  in  the  knowledge 
and  realization  of  divine  things  that  can  be  expected  of 
the  ordinary  church  member. 

On  account  of  this  maturity  of  apprehension  and  for 
the  purpose  of  clearer  understanding,  ministerial  asso- 
ciations sometimes  adopt  a  simple  statement  of  evangeli- 
cal views.  For  such  a  use  we  know  of  no  better  docu- 
ment than  the  so-called  Apostles'  Creed  which,  though 

[41] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

probably  not  written  by  the  apostles,  is  undoubtedly 
the  production  of  a  very  early  age.  The  striking  feature 
of  this  document  is  that  it  emphasizes  the  supernatural 
character  of  the  gospel.  Jesus  Christ  is  indeed  repre- 
sented as  truly  a  man  both  in  body  and  mind,  yet  also 
as  being  sent  into  the  world  by  his  divine  Father  to  be 
the  representative  of  God's  love  and  the  Saviour  of 
sinners.  He  was  so  possessed  by  the  control  of  a  divine 
personality  that  he  became,  as  no  other  man  ever  was 
or  can  be,  a  divine  person,  and  so  he  fulfilled  a  mission 
for  the  redemption  of  the  world  which  only  such  a  per- 
son could  accomplish.  Many  things  told  of  our  Saviour 
would  be  incredible  and  inexplicable,  were  he  not,  as  he 
himself  claimed  to  be,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 

While  Presbjrterians  do  not  recognize  as  preachers 
of  the  gospel  those  who  do  not  preach  it,  they  acknowl- 
edge the  sincerity  and  earnestness  of  many  teachers  who 
cannot  accept  a  heaven-sent  supernatural  gospel,  but 
who  yet  advocate  noble  theistic  doctrines.  We  have 
friendly  feelings  for  such  and  gladly  cooperate  with 
them  in  movements  for  the  betterment  of  mankind. 
Besides,  we  know  that  men  who  profess  orthodox  views 
are  sometimes  sadly  wanting  in  that  living  faith  which 
works  by  love,  and  that  others  are  often  deeply  in- 
fluenced by  truths  which  they  do  not  clearly  and  fully 
comprehend. 

If  the  great  president  were  seeking  to-day  a  church 
which  demanded  no  subscription  to  "a  complicated 
creed,"  and  which  required  of  its  members  only  that 
they  should  accept  the  law  of  love  as  stated  by  our 
Saviour,  we  Presbyterians  would  say:  "Well,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  what  do  you  mean  by  speaking  of  Christ  as 
*our  Saviour'?    Do  you  take  him  to  be  your  Saviour? 

[42] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Do  you  believe  that  the  Son  of  God  loved  us  and  gave 
himself  for  us,  that  we  might  be  his  people,  filled  with 
love  and  zealous  of  good  works?  If  this  be  your  posi- 
tion (and  we  believe  it  is)  come  right  in;  we  welcome 
you  to  our  communion;  we  do  not  ask  you  to  sign  any 
creed  at  all." 


[43] 


HENRY  SCOTT  HOLLAND,  D.D.,   Litt.D., 

OXFORD,     ENGLAND 

Canon  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford;  born  at  Ledbury,  Here- 
fordshire, England,  Jan.  27,  1847;  educated  at  Eton  and 
Balliol  College;  senior  student  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford, 
1870-85;  theological  tutor  at  the  same  college,  1872-85; 
honorary  canon  of  St.  Petroc  in  Truro  Cathedral,  1883- 
84<;  canon  of  St.  Paul's  since  1884;  examining  chaplain 
to  the  bishop  of  Truro,  1883-91;  examining  chaplain  to 
the  bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  1893-1908,  and  to  the  bishop 
of  Oxford,  1893-1908;  author  of  Logic  and  Life;  Creed 
and  Character;  Christ  or  Ecclesiastes;  On  Behalf  of  Be- 
lief; Pleas  and  Claims;  God's  City;  Personal  Studies; 
Vital  Values;  Apostolic  Fathers;  Life  of  Jenny  Lind;  Old 
and  Nerv;  Fibres  of  Faith;  essay  on  "Faith"  in  Lux 
Mundi. 

**Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

No  wonder  that  the  noble  words  seem  to  hold  the  whole 
secret  of  life,  and  that  we  begin  to  ask  whether  a  church 
could  not  make  such  a  declaration  of  love  and  service 
to  God  and  man  its  "sole  qualification  for  membership." 
Yet  the  mere  sound  of  the  words  might  surely  have 
served  to  remind  even  the  devout  and  simple-hearted 
American  president  of  how  and  when  they  were  spoken. 
They  came  from  a  man  who  was  challenged  by  our  Lord 
to  say  what  he  had  found  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  older 
covenant.  He  was  asked  to  give  his  reading  of  the  law, 
and  he  gave  it  in  this  formula.  The  words  then  are  pre- 
Christian;  they  come  from  a  man  who  has  had  no 
experience  at  all  of  what  Jesus  Christ  stood  for  on  this 
earth;  they  belong  to  a  period  before  the  name  and 
power  of  Christ  had  even  begun  to  tell  upon  the  relig- 

[44] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ious  story  of  man,  and  there  is  nothing  in  them  which 
belongs  to  that  which  has  made  Christianity  a  religion. 
Yet,  I  suppose  when  we  are  asking  how  to  unite  in  a 
conmion  church,  we  are  intending  a  Church  of  Christ. 
We  are  asking  how  Christ  can  in  the  simplest  possible 
terms  bind  us  together.  It  is  no  good  for  this  purpose 
going  back  behind  Christ,  and  omitting  from  our 
declaration  of  membership  everything  that  has  made 
him  our  Redeemer  and  our  King. 

Again,  the  words  were  intended  as  spoken  to  sum  up 
the  significance  of  the  law;  but  the  law  is  a  religion  that 
came  to  an  end  of  its  resources;  it  declared  itself 
impotent  to  accomplish  its  own  mission.  That  is  why 
Christ  stood  on  this  earth.  The  law  had  made  a  promise 
which  it  was  unable  to  fulfil.  Under  its  terms  man 
could  not  be  saved.  That  is  what  John  the  Baptist  was 
sent  to  declare  down  by  Jordan.  That  is  what  was 
known  to  all  those  who  confessed  and  repented,  and 
washed  in  the  Jordan  water,  and  yet  found  that  no 
change  had  passed  over  their  life.  "Thou  shalt  love." 
That  is  the  law.  "But  we  cannot  love."  That  is  man's 
response.  "If  only  we  could  love  God  with  all  our  heart 
all  would  be  well,  or  our  neighbor  as  ourself .  But  the 
more  we  try  to  realize  this  love,  and  the  more  we  under- 
stand of  its  height  and  of  its  depth,  the  more  bitter 
becomes  the  confession  of  our  own  shame  and  impotence. 
What  we  will,  we  cannot  do.  Oh !  wretched  man  that  I 
am !"  Here  is  a  religion  then  which  has  proved  its  ineffi- 
ciency. It  was  declared  to  be  obsolete  nearly  two  thou- 
sand years  ago.  What  is  the  good  of  going  back  to 
that?  Back  to  a  condition  which  has  long  ago  worked 
out  its  own  failure?  The  whole  question  for  a  church 
to-day  IS  "How  can  I  love  God,  and  how  can  I  love 

[45] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

my  neighbor?"  It  is  to  that  question  that  Christ  gives 
the  answer.  He  offers  the  change  of  heart,  the  new 
spirit,  the  new  creature,  by  which  alone  the  religious 
desire  can  consummate  itself.  He  does  this  by  his  cross 
and  passion,  by  his  resurrection  and  royalty;  and  the 
only  membership  in  any  church  which  is  to  bring  salva- 
tion must  involve  membership  in  the  Christ.  That  is 
why  it  cannot  be  reduced  to  the  simple  terms  of  a 
religion  which  had  broken  down  before  Christ  appeared. 


[46] 


THE  REV.  JOHN  WILLIAM  HORSLEY,  M.A., 

DETUNG,     ENGLAND 

Vicar  of  Detling,  Kent,  since  IQH;  honorary  canon  of 
Southwark;  born  at  Dunkirk,  near  Faversham,  England^ 
June  14,  1845;  received  his  education  at  King's  School^ 
Canterbury,  and  at  Pembroke  College,  Oxford;  curate  at 
Witney,  1870-75;  curate  of  St.  Michael's,  Shoreditch, 
1875-76;  chaplain  of  Her  Majesty's  Prison,  Clerkenwell, 
1876-86;  vicar  of  Holy  Trinity,  Woolwich,  1888-94;  rec- 
tor of  St.  Peter's,  Walworth,  1894-1911;  Mayor  of  South- 
wark, 1910 ;  author  of  Practical  Hints  on  Parochial  Mis^ 
axons  (with  Bishop  Dawes) ;  Jottings  from  Jail  Notes; 
Prisons  and  Prisoners;  I  Remember;  How  Criminals  are 
Made  and  Prevented;  Some  Alpine   Prophets. 

The  questions  seem  to  me,  as  a  student  (and  no  more) 
of  both  theology  and  science,  to  be  four  in  number: 

1.  What  are  the  causes  of  indilBPerence  to  the  claims 
of  the  Church? 

2.  Could  a  "sole  qualification  for  membership"  in 
any  organized  society  be  found  in  a  somewhat  vague 
statement  of  a  subjective  mental  and  emotional  atti- 
tude, without  its  being  conditioned  and  tested  by 
obedience  to  the  rules  found  in,  and  necessary  to,  any 
society? 

3.  Is  not  the  necessity  and  value  of  a  creed  an  ex- 
perience of  humanity? 

4.  Are  there  any  "literary,  scientific,  and  philosophi- 
cal certainties"  which  contradict  any  dogma  of  the 
Catholic  Church? 

Let  me  deal  briefly  with  each  of  these  questions. 

1.  IndiflFerence  to  claims  is  no  doubt  more  in  evi- 
dence in  our  times  than  in  some  previous  times,  and  this 
indifference  is  chiefly  based  on  a  preference  of  pleasure 

[47] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  convenience  to  duty.  It  is  not  merely  the  claims 
of  the  Church  which  are  ignored  or  resisted.  The  claims 
of  politics,  and  of  social  service,  are  also  notoriously 
little  or  nothing  to  "thousands  upon  thousands."  "I 
will  not,  because  I  ought"  is  at  the  bottom  of  much 
neglect  of  duty.  It  is  not  merely  a  reproduction  as 
regards  Christ  of  the  cry  "we  will  not  have  this  man 
to  rule  over  us,"  but  it  is  the  objection  of  self-will  and 
pride  to  any  rule.  That  typical  drama  of  humanity 
which  goes  by  the  name  of  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal 
Son  suggests  that  the  fault  is  not  in  the  Church  or  in 
its  claims,  but  in  the  desire  for  an  independence  of  any 
control.  The  Church  is  from  one  point  of  view  a 
friendly  society.  No  friendly  society  can  exist  without 
rules  and  obedience  to  rule.  Therefore  we  must  either, 
as  George  Herbert  wrote,  "Give  to  thy  mother  what 
thou  wouldst  allow  to  every  corporation,"  or  prove  that 
the  Church  is  an  exception  in  this  respect.  When  in 
some  "silly  season"  a  newspaper  fills  its  columns  with 
letters  on  why  we  don't  go  to  church,  the  plenitude 
of  excuses,  and  in  many  cases  their  absurdity,  is  as 
obvious  as  the  fact  that  they  are  but  excuses,  and  as 
such  pitiable  or  even  contemptible  when  proceeding 
from  men  who  have  reason  and  should  find  a  reason 
for  all  action  or  inaction. 

2.  Then  we  come  to  the  dictum  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
which  seems  to  me  as  vulnerable  as  vague.  First  of 
all,  is  the  Apostles'  Creed  (to  which  alone,  had  he  been 
a  layman  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  would  have 
been  required  to  pledge  himself)  either  "long"  or  "com- 
plicated?" In  proportion  as  it  is  the  soundness  of  his 
premise  is  impaired.  Secondly,  if  a  church  has  an  altar 
over  which  his  desiderated  inscription  might  be  put,  is 

[48] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

not  an  altar  for  use,  and  does  not  that  use  connote  a 
good  deal  more  in  way  of  faith  and  practise  than  his 
"Love  God  and  love  others"?  Thirdly,  he  has  fallen 
into  the  common  error  of  forgetting  that  love  must  be 
tested  and  proved  and  not  merely  professed.  "If  ye 
love  me,  keep  my  commandments."  Imitation  and  obe- 
dience must  be  fruits  to  demonstrate  the  vitality  of  the 
love  of  the  Saviour.  The  imitation  of  Christ  must  not 
omit  the  following  of  his  example  of  joining  in  common 
prayer  and  of  fulfilling  that  duty  of  common  and  regu- 
lar worship  which  is  instinctive  in  humanity.  Lincoln's 
position  might  have  justified,  from  his  point  of  view,  his 
forming  a  new  church  for  himself  and  the  like-minded, 
but  not  his  self -excommunication  from  any  and  every 
religious  body.  His  words  remind  me  of  the  inci- 
dent in  John  6,  when  after  our  Lord  had  given  very 
definite  and  dogmatic  teaching,  then  and  therefore 
"many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and  walked  no  more 
with  him"  because  they  found  Lincoln's  difiiculty  in 
"giving  their  assent  without  mental  reservation  to  that 
statement  of  Christian  doctrine,"  that  "hard  saying," 
as  they  describe  it. 

3.  With  all  desire  for  comprehension,  with  every 
hope  that  men  may  more  see  that  unity,  and  by  no 
means  uniformity,  is  consonant  to  the  mind  of  God  as 
evidenced  in  the  regions  both  of  nature  and  of  grace, 
I  am  bound  to  find  in  my  idea  of  a  Christian  Church 
an  irreducible  minimum  in  the  Apostles'  Creed  and  in 
the  sacrament  of  baptism.  I  cannot  regard  a  pious 
aspiration  as  the  equivalent  of  a  creed.  Structurally  a 
love  of  art  will  not  produce  a  stable  or  a  beautiful  build- 
ing without  a  definite  design  and  plan  to  which  men 
may  build.     Even  a  creed  that  seems  to  err  by  the 

[49] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

addition  of  unnecessary  articles  or  by  the  subtraction 
of  those  which  are  necessary  has  a  value  in  the  forma- 
tion of  character.  I  am  neither  a  Calvinist  nor  a  Mo- 
hammedan nor  an  Ultramontane ;  but  I  can  see  advan- 
tages accruing  to  them  from  their  creeds  which  without 
such  backbone  to  their  subjective  faith  they  would  not 
possess.  There  is  theology  which  is  not  "fundamental" ; 
but  if  your  symposium  resulted  in  a  common  assent 
which  was  fundamental,  or  in  other  words  to  the  clearer 
distinction  between  matters  of  faith  and  matters  of 
pious  opinion,  I  am  afraid  the  objectors  to  what  resulted 
would  not  be  reduced  to  numerical  insignificance. 

4.  A  great  deal  of  definition  and  of  explanation  is 
necessary  before  your  fourth  question  could  be  an- 
swered, or  even  understood^  I  cannot  conceive  of  a 
theology  that  would  not  "accord  with  the  assured  re- 
sults of  science."  But  has  science  said  its  last  word 
when  it  cannot  even  say  what  electricity  is?  I  began 
to  study  science  in  the  sixties;  but  I  have  seen  not  a 
few  dicta  of  science  discarded  in  view  of  greater  and 
newer  light.  Science  means:  I  am  learning,  rather 
than :  I  have  learned.  To  take  the  most  crucial  instance. 
Science  once  denied  the  possibility  of  the  virgin-birth 
of  Christ.  Science  in  the  same  generation  came  to  dis- 
cover parthenogenesis,  and  can  hardly  deny  the  possi- 
bility of  a  unique  happening  of  this  sort  in  the  human 
race  where  Haeckel  and  Weissman  frankly  admit  par- 
thenogenesis as  an  incontestible  fact  in  the  animal  king- 
dom. Darwinism  has  to  me  explained,  not  controverted. 
Genesis.  Therefore  there  lurks  a  fallacy,  a  petitio  prin- 
cipiiy  in  your  use  of  the  words  "assured"  and  "certain- 
ties." By  the  literary  certainties  of  our  time  I  presume 
you  mean  the  results  of  biblical  criticism.     But  here 

[50] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

there  are  maximizers  and  minimizers,  an  English  school 
and  a  German  school,  and  to  which  is  certainty  to  be 
predicated?  The  one  has  blown  dust  out  of  an  old  in- 
scription; the  other  has  obliterated  the  letters.  And 
what  are  the  "philosophical  certainties  of  our  times?" 
On  what  are  philosophers  agreed?  and  on  such  points 
as  are  undisputed  (none  probably  the  invention  of  our 
times)  in  what  way  do  they  not  accord  with  theology? 
What  is  the  philosophical  certainty  as  to  the  nature 
and  object  of  conscience,  for  example?  Spencer  and 
Bain  call  it  fallible,  educable,  vacillative.  John  Foster 
defines  it  as  a  mere  "bundle  of  habits."  But  Kant 
says  that  "an  erring  conscience  is  a  chimera."  One 
agrees  with  him  when  ceasing  to  confuse  cuvetdrjfft^  and 
ffuvTijpyjfft^,  self-consciousness  and  the  soul's  unerring 
sense  of  right  and  wrong  in  motives;  but  where  is 
the  assured  certainty  of  philosophers  on  this  point? 
Science  is  continuously  learning:  theology  has  learned. 
Science  brings  forth  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  which 
in  many  ways  and  sundry  fashions  speaks  to  men,  some 
new  illustrations,  some  fresh  elucidations  of  old  truths, 
and  theology  (though  not  always  or  at  first  all  theolo- 
gians) thankfully  accepts  its  aid. 


[51] 


THE  REV.  THEODORE  WHITEFIELD 
HUNT,   Ph.D.,   Litt.D., 

PRINCETON^   N.   J, 

Professor  of  English  language  and  literature,  Princeton 
University,  N.  J.,  since  1873;  born  at  Metuchen,  N.  J., 
Feb.  19^  1844;  graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  1865, 
and  from  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  1869;  tutor  in 
the  English  department  of  Princeton  College  from  1868- 
71;  studied  at  the  University  of  Berlin,  1871-72;  author 
of  Caedmon's  Exodus  and  Daniel;  Principles  of  Written 
Discourse;  English  Prose  and  Prose  Writers;  Studies  in 
Literature  and  Style;  Ethical  Teachings  in  Old  English 
Literature;  Literature;  Its  Principles  and  Problems;  etc. 

The  various  questions  submitted  are  practically  re- 
ducible to  one  comprehensive  inquiry — "Why  is  it  that 
there  are  so  many  persons  who  are  indifferent  to  the 
claims  of  the  Church,  and  refuse  to  become  identified 
with  it  in  any  of  its  numerous  denominations?" 
Some  of  the  reasons  are  as  follows : 

1.  Because  many  are,  out  and  out,  unbelievers. 
They  have  no  faith  in  any  system  of  Christian  doctrine 
or  any  of  the  so-called  institutions  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. They  are,  in  reality,  atheistic.  No  conditions 
of  church  relationship,  however  accommodating,  would 
attract  them. 

2.  Because  the  claims  of  church  membership  and 
even  of  church  attendance  are  based  on  the  necessity  of 
personal  religion.  While  not  denying  the  validity  of 
the  Christian  religion  in  the  abstract,  many  prefer  and 
pursue  the  unreligious  or  non-religious  life,  if  not,  in- 
deed, the  irreligious.  No  terms  of  church  connection 
would  at  all  appeal  to  them. 

[52] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

3.  Because  of  the  decline  of  faith  and  the  conse- 
quent weakening  of  the  religious  sense.  It  makes  but 
little  difference  what  this  is  called — agnosticism  or 
materialism,  or  naturalism  as  distinct  from  supernatu- 
ralism — the  disastrous  result  is  the  same,  the  deadening 
of  ethical  and  spiritual  impulse  and  the  growing  indif- 
ference to  the  interests  that  pertain  to  the  higher  life. 
Here  is  a  manifest  modem  drift  away  from  convictions 
that  were  once  considered  unchangeable,  and  straight 
toward  the  acceptance  of  beliefs  wholly  questionable 
in  their  character  and  bearing.  This  negation  or  denial 
of  fundamental  truth  has  been  partly  the  result  of  an 
unchristian  science  and  philosophy,  and  partly  induced 
by  the  overwhelming  absorption  of  the  modern  world 
in  the  tangible  and  temporal.  Something  more  than  a 
modification  of  creed  is  here  needed.  Nothing,  as  we 
believe,  but  the  regenerative  potency  of  the  divine  Spirit 
can  successfully  oppose  this  perilous  drift,  found  even 
within  the  bosom  of  the  Church  itself. 

4.  Because  of  the  multiform  attractions  and  diver- 
sions outside  the  sanctuary,  many  of  them,  perchance  in 
themselves  legitimate,  but  in  the  main  subversive  of 
sabbath  observance.  It  is  here  that  the  stress  and  strain 
of  modern  American  life  enter  as  a  distinctive  and 
disturbing  factor.  The  intense  engagements  of  the  secu- 
lar week  convert  the  sabbath  perforce  into  a  day  of 
recreation.  It  is  not  the  question  as  to  what  the  terms 
of  church  communion  may  or  may  not  be,  but  simply  a 
question  of  bodily  and  mental  relief  from  the  oppressive 
pressure  of  the  week.  It  is  this  as  much  as  anything 
else  that  depletes  or  prevents  church  attendance,  not 
confined,  by  any  means,  to  the  laboring  classes,  so-called, 
or  the  miscellaneous  pleasure-seeking  public,  but  in- 

[53] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

eluding  members  of  the  various  liberal  professions,  and 
those  engaged  in  journalistic  and  educational  work.  It 
is  here  that  the  Sunday  newspaper  enters  as  a  promi- 
nent diverting  agent  that  must  be  reckoned  with.  So 
potent  have  these  determining  factors  become  that  the 
Church,  in  sheer  self-defense,  has  often  sought  to  meet 
and  counteract  them  by  methods  so  exceptional  as  to 
deserve  the  condemnation  of  all  right-minded  men. 
Christian  worship  has  thus  often  been  reduced  to  the 
character  of  travesty  and  evangelical  preaching  given 
way  to  a  semi-theatrical  presentation  of  what  are  called 
"the  issues  of  the  day."  Some  of  our  institutional 
churches  are  here  in  danger  of  making  the  bazaar  and 
the  soup-kitchen  more  conspicuous  than  the  pulpit  and 
the  altar.  We  need  another  Cowper  to  satirize  such 
desecration. 

5.  Because  many  are  unwilling  to  submit  themselves 
to  the  ecclesiastical  or  ceremonial  restrictions  of  any 
church  organization.  If  Christians,  as  some  of  them 
are,  they  are  Christians  at  large,  preferring  to  express 
their  religious  life  in  their  own  way,  altogether  apart 
from  any  prescribed  system  or  church  order.  It  is 
probable  that  there  are  large  numbers  of  such  persons 
outside  the  pale  of  the  Church,  nor  would  any  conditions 
of  ecclesiastical  relation  at  all  influence  them.  They 
are,  out  and  out,  independents.  In  so  far  as  religious 
instruction  is  concerned,  they  prefer  to  obtain  it  out- 
side the  established  ministrations  of  the  sanctuary,  in 
forms  which  appeal  to  them  as  more  attractive  and 
helpful.  It  is  highly  significant  to  state  that  this  reason 
for  absenteeism  applies  to  numbers  who,  having  been, 
for  a  time,  identified  with  church  organization,  have 
withdrawn  therefrom  and  sought  their  religious  teach- 

[54] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  in  religious  literature.  The  average  preaching  of 
our  clergy  seems  to  find  no  response  in  such  minds,  be 
the  reasons  valid  or  not.  We  are  bound  to  confess  that 
in  this  class  there  are  many  of  the  most  thoughtful  and 
conscientious  persons  of  our  time.  The  responsibility 
of  the  ministry  at  this  point  is,  mdeed,  momentous — 
how  to  recover  this  disaffected  constituency,  how  to 
present  the  gospel  so  as  to  be  true  to  its  essential  teach- 
ings and  yet  "commend  it  to  every  man's  conscience 
in  the  sight  of  God."  If,  as  we  are  told,  the  gospel 
can  be  made  interesting  to  the  hearer,  even  though  he 
be  unchristian,  the  problem  is  how  to  make  it  so.  Our 
theological  seminaries  in  preparing  students  for  the 
ministry  may  well  give  heed  to  this  responsibility  and 
seriously  inquire  how  it  may  best  be  met.  Here,  again, 
it  is  not  a  question  of  terms  of  membership. 

6.  Because  in  the  nation  at  large  and,  especially,  in 
our  cities,  the  old-time  pastoral  function  of  the  ministry 
has  passed  into  abeyance,  through  whose  beneficent 
agency  the  personal  appeal  of  the  clergy  in  the  inti- 
mate relationships  of  family  life  had  a  potent  effect  in 
securing  church  attendance  and  membership.  The 
rapidly  changing  residence  of  our  traveling  public  and 
the  consequent  abolition  of  much  of  our  wholesome 
home  life  are  largely  responsible  for  this  result.  Here, 
again,  it  is  not  a  question  of  terms  of  membership.  To 
this  particular  reason,  however,  we  are  now  brought. 

7.  Because  many  are  influenced  adversely  by  what 
Mr.  Lincoln  called  "the  long  and  complicated  doctrines 
which  characterize  articles  of  belief  and  confessions  of 
faith"  and  which,  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  avowal,  made 
it  impossible  for  him  to  identify  himself  with  any  organ- 
ized  church.      Partly,    on    intellectual   grounds    and, 

1552 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

partly,  on  grounds  of  conscience  such  persons  cannot 
subscribe  to  the  credal  conditions  with  which  they  are 
confronted  at  the  church  door.  They  question  the 
validity  or  necessity  of  any  such  detailed  statement  of 
terms.  If  a  creed  is  necessary,  as  they  do  not  alto- 
gether deny,  then  they  insist  that  it  shall  be  divested 
of  all  "controversial  questions"  and  reduced  to  the 
shortest  and  simplest  terms  possible  to  language,  ex- 
pressing the  general  faith  of  Protestant  Christianity. 
Here  is  a  problem  of  imminent  seriousness  and  difficulty 
confronting  the  Church  of  to-day — ^how  to  conserve  the 
essential  values  of  Protestant  reformed  doctrine  and  yet 
so  embody  and  interpret  them  as  to  meet  the  ever-chang- 
ing conditions  of  modern  thought.  The  essentials  must, 
at  all  hazards,  be  preserved,  while  the  forms  of  these 
statements  may,  perchance,  be  so  modified  as  to  appeal 
effectively  to  the  great  body  of  those  who  are  religiously 
disposed  and  would  be  willing  to  identify  themselves 
with  the  Christian  Church.  Here  is  the  crucial  prob- 
lem— to  be  safely  conservative  and  safely  progressive, 
to  present  a  system  of  doctrine  quite  divested  of  merely 
local  and  denominational  peculiarities,  as  true  in  the 
twentieth  century  as  in  the  first,  and  commending  itself 
to  sincere  seekers  of  the  truth  as  a  reasonable  credal  re- 
quirement. It  is  interesting  to  note  the  various  at- 
tempts that  have  been  made  to  reach  this  result.  Mr. 
Lincoln  would  reduce  the  conditions  of  membership  to 
the  biblical  summary  of  the  law  and  the  gospel.  The 
scriptural  compends — "Fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments," "Cease  to  do  evil  and  learn  to  do  well," 
"Do  justly,  love  mercy  and  walk  humbly  with  thy 
Gk)d,"  would  satisfy  others.  The  late  Dr.  Watson  in 
his  Mind  of  the  Master j  oifers  us  his  well-known  sum- 


19poiunio8  'j^  lav^ 


I  •  •  •      p 


/ 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mary.  Bodies  of  divinity,  such  as  the  Anglican  and 
Calvinistic,  have  been  restated  in  deference  to  this 
desire  to  formulate  a  simple  workable  creed,  built 
up  on  the  broad  basis  of  generally  accepted  Chris- 
tian truth.  All  this  is  full  of  promise,  and  the  more 
distinctive  the  federation  of  the  churches  becomes  and 
the  effort  to  minimize  differences  and  emphasize  agree- 
ments, the  more  rapidly  will  the  unification  of  our 
Protestant  faith  result  in  a  system  that  will  commend 
itself  to  earnest  minds. 

One  thing  is  certain,  be  the  results  what  they  may — 
the  great  distinctive  doctrines  of  evangelical  Christianity 
must  be  maintained — the  divinity  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit;  the  divine  origin  of  the  Bible;  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ  as  an  offering  for  human  sin  and  guilt; 
the  need  and  duty  of  repentance  and  faith  and  holiness 
of  life;  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  the  final  judg- 
ment. These  are  fundamental  factors,  nor  will  any 
mere  device  of  pew-filling  make  it  possible  or  desirable 
to  ignore  these  cardinal  canons  of  the  Protestant 
Church. 

Never  has  this  sinful  world  needed  the  gospel  of 
divine  grace  more  than  it  does  now,  and  never  has  the 
Christian  Church  been  more  alive  to  the  meeting  of  that 
need  in  every  legitimate  and  divinely  sanctioned  way. 
Never,  as  we  believe,  have  we  had  in  our  land  an  abler 
and  a  more  devoted  Protestant  ministry,  or  a  more  co- 
operative Christian  laity,  and  how  to  invigorate  the 
church  of  Christ  and  bring  it  into  more  vital  contact 
with  the  Christian  and  unchristian  world — this  is  the 
dominant  duty  of  the  hour. 


[57] 


EDWARD  CALDWELL  MOORE,  Ph.D.,  D.D., 

CAMBRIDGE^   MASS. 

Parkman  professor  of  theology  at  Harvard  University 
since  1902,  and  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Preachers  to  the 
University  since  1905;  bom  at  West  Chester,  Pa.,  Sept.  1, 
1857;  received  his  education  at  Marietta  College,  Ohio, 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  at  the  Universities  of 
Berlin,  Gottingen  and  Giessen;  ordained  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian ministry,  1884;  pastor  of  the  Westminster  Presby- 
terian Church,  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  1886-89;  Central  Congre- 
gational Church  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  1889-1902;  author 
of  The  New  Testament  in  the  Christian  Church;  History 
of  Christian  Thought  Since  Kant, 

The  larger  number  of  those  who  have  been  asked  to 
take  part  in  this  discussion  will  probably  be  found  to 
be  Christian  men.  To  them  religion  is  dear.  In  their 
view  it  is  necessary  for  the  world.  The  Church  is  the 
organ  of  the  social  influence  of  religion,  and  the  instru- 
mentality for  its  perpetuation.  The  indifference  of  men 
to  the  Church  is  therefore  a  painful  fact,  a  problem 
which  these  men  would  try  to  solve. 

One  gets  sometimes  the  impression  that  this  indif- 
ference is  greater  now  than  ever  before.  Statistics  do 
not  show  that  in  our  own  country  this  is  true.  In  this 
country  the  growth  of  church  membership  in  propor- 
tion to  the  population,  the  increase  of  church  property, 
the  wide  ramifications  of  church  life  and  influence,  are 
among  the  notable  facts  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
of  the  last  generation  in  particular.  Yet  we  all  know 
that  there  is  a  deep  alienation  from  the  Church,  a  wide- 
spread antagonism  toward  it,  a  vigorous  denunciation 
of  it.    When  one  considers  the  frivolous  and  sordid  ex- 

[58] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

pectation  which  many  men  and  women  cherish  concern- 
ing life  and  their  intolerance  of  that  which  does  not 
subserve  their  purposes,  when  one  considers,  moreover, 
the  maladjustment  which  often  characterizes  the  Church 
in  its  relation  to  purposes  in  man's  life  which  it  might 
well  subserve,  one  wonders  that  the  indiflference  is  not 
even  greater  than  it  is. 

The  citation,  in  the  editors'  letter,  of  famous  words 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  gives  the  impression  that  in  the 
editors'  view,  at  least,  one  main  cause  of  this  indiffer- 
ence to  the  churches  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  insist  upon 
long  and  complex  statements  of  faith,  dealing  with  re- 
mote questions  and  phrased  in  conformity  with  a  mode 
of  thought  which  no  longer  reigns  in  our  day.  We  all 
admire  the  candor  with  which  the  great  liberator  set 
forth  the  kind  of  statement  of  faith  which  would  be 
congenial  to  him.  I  can  but  think  that  this  objection, 
though  still  often  urged,  has  lost  some  of  its  significance 
in  our  day.  Do  the  churches  for  the  most  part,  nowa- 
days, insist  on  elaborate  creeds,  as  if  the  assent  to  them 
were  the  main  matter?  It  is  not  my  observation  that 
they  do.  On  the  contrary,  one  might  sometimes  raise 
the  opposite  question,  one  might  ask  how  they  can  still 
say  that  they  hold  to  be  of  first  importance  traditional 
statements  of  which  in  practice  they  make  so  very  little. 
Have  we  not  among  us  churches  which  have  reduced 
their  creeds  to  the  lowest  possible  terms?  Are  these  the 
churches  to  which  men  are  the  least  indifferent?  I  am 
not  saying  that  if  they  were  to  adopt  again  a  long  creed, 
old  or  new,  they  would  immediately  be  filled.  I  am 
only  saying  that  the  fact  that  they  have  no  creed  has 
not  wrought  the  miracle  which  the  arguers  against 
creeds  prophesied  that  it  would  work. 

[59] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

We  should  perhaps  be  not  too  much  moved  by  criti- 
cisms of  the  Church  which  palpably  betray  that  the 
authors  have  little  knowledge  of  that  which  in  our  gen- 
eration is  being  said  and  done  in  churches.  We  are  told 
with  urgency  that  ministers  in  their  sermons  should  dis- 
cuss, and  churches  with  their  activities  should  further, 
the  life  of  man  in  this  world.  They  should  deal  with 
things  political,  economic  and  social.  If  they  would 
concern  themselves  with  these  things  men  would  not 
be  indifferent  to  the  Church.  I  submit  that  it  is  exactly 
this  which,  for  an  eager  moment  and  in  all  good  con- 
science, numbers  of  our  ministers  are  doing.  Does  the 
world  crowd  to  these  discussions?  At  all  events,  it 
soon  wearies  of  so  doing.  Men  can  hear  those  subjects 
discussed  at  least  equally  well  elsewhere.  Men  hear 
them  perennially  discussed  in  any  case.  They  some- 
times wish  to  hear  something  else  discussed.  They  have 
the  instinct  that  in  the  Church  they  might  naturally 
expect  to  hear  some  other  discussion.  Without  doubt 
religion  has  a  thousand  applications  by  which  it  should 
serve  all  worthy  ends  of  man's  life  in  the  world.  I  am 
merely  saying  that  it  has  also  another  service,  namely, 
the  reminder  of  another  life.  Perhaps  its  greatest  serv- 
ice to  this  world  is  the  reminder  of  the  other  world.  It 
is  a  great  compliment  to  the  Church  that  men  should 
be  indifferent  to  it — ^under  these  circumstances.  It  is 
possible  for  men  to  be  indifferent  to  the  Church  because 
they  want  religion. 

Again,  is  it  not  the  very  highest  tribute  to  the  success 
of  the  Christian  Church  that  there  are  now  so  many 
other  instrumentalities  through  which  the  Christian 
spirit  may  be  expressed?  There  are  many  channels 
through  which  its  energies  may  be  put  forth,  many 

[60] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

forms  of  work  through  which  Christly  service  may  be 
rendered  and  the  satisfactions  of  such  service  drawn. 
Yet  because  of  the  multiplicity  of  these  opportunities 
many  men  and  women  who  would  once  surely  have 
found  their  outlet  and  satisfaction  through  the  Church 
are  now  classed  as  among  those  indifferent  to  the 
Church.  What  is  the  Church  of  God  in  the  world?  Is 
it  only  the  worshiping  community?  Or  is  the  worship- 
ing community,  with  its  place  of  prayer  and  praise,  its 
hour  and  fellowship  of  devotion,  its  opportunity  of  con- 
trition and  of  divine  enduement,  only  the  hearthstone 
and  home  of  the  soul  of  those  who  serve  God  and  their 
fellows  in  any  way  at  all  and  in  any  walk  in  life? 

Nothing  which  I  have  written  is  to  be  taken  as  mini- 
mizing the  duty  and  privilege  of  restating  faith,  re- 
modeling practice,  reorganizing  the  institution  of  the 
Church  in  such  fashion  that  all  of  that  which  it  says 
and  is  and  does  shall  be  a  part  of  the  life  of  our  own 
time.  Nothing  could  be  further  from  my  purpose.  If 
men  with  an  artificial  or  obsolete  theology,  or  again  with 
an  antequated  or  inadequate  view  of  the  relation  of 
religion  to  life,  have  nevertheless  fostered  godliness  and 
spread  the  air  of  piety  about  them,  it  has  not  been  be- 
cause of,  but  rather  in  spite  of,  their  ancient  theology 
and  their  narrow  or  timid  and  other-worldly  view. 
Similarly,  if  men  have  been  so  contentious  about  a  mod- 
em theology  and  a  social  view  of  the  gospel  that  others 
have  not  been  able  to  hear  the  gospel  because  of  the 
contention,  it  has  not  been  owing  to  the  modern  views 
or  the  socially  directed  energies  that  the  effort  has 
failed.  It  has  failed  in  spite  of  these,  which  should  have 
been  valued  accessories.  It  is  religion  itself  which  really 
moves  men  and  so  commands  men  that  it  is  difficult 

[61] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

for  them  to  be  indifferent  to  it.  Religion  has,  however, 
apparently  been  capable  of  combination  with  many  bad 
theologies  and  partial  or  passing  world  views.  It  has 
also  signally  failed  in  combination  with  views  which  in 
themselves  considered  we  might  have  said  were  better 
views.  Religion,  the  joy  in  God,  love  of  the  souls  of 
men,  the  enthusiasm  for  goodness,  is  a  different  thing 
from  a  world  view.  It  is  a  life  in  the  soul  which  cul- 
ture may  wisely  guide  but  for  which  culture  is  no  sub- 
stitute. 

Finally,  we  may  remind  ourselves  that  the  judgment 
of  majorities  is  not  infallible  as  to  the  highest  things  in 
the  world.  Our  churches,  like  all  our  other  institutions, 
are  carried  away  just  now  by  extravagant  reverence 
for  that  vague  power  called  the  public.  We  are  told 
that  the  day  of  the  church  of  authority  is  gone,  the  day 
of  the  church  of  the  people  has  come.  Even  if  that 
were  true  we  might  still  ask  whether  it  were  not  a  state 
of  things  which  we  should  do  well  to  try  to  reverse. 
At  present  I  am  content  to  point  out  that  it  is  not  true. 
It  is  not  an  anomaly ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  one  of  the  evi- 
dences of  the  fundamental  soundness  of  life,  and  a  fact 
which  only  our  stupid  fear  of  demagogues  prevents 
us  from  recognizing,  that  exactly  the  churches  of  au- 
thority, the  churches  which  have  not  sacrificed  the  prin- 
ciple of  leadership,  are  those  which  are  successful  in 
holding  the  people.  People  need  leadership.  They 
want  leadership.  They  go  where  they  get  it.  The  most 
popular  churches  are  either  not  holding  their  people  or 
else  are  holding  them  to  something  else  than  religion. 
One  of  the  things  which  would  make  men  less  indifferent 
to  the  Church  might  be  that  some  of  our  churches  should 
be  less  indifferent  to  themselves,  that  they  should  know 

[62] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

what  they  stand  for,  and  stand  for  it,  whether  men  will 
hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear.  There  is  no  necessary 
virtue  in  being  unpopular.  There  is  sometimes  great 
virtue  in  not  being  anxious  about  being  popular,  so  only 
that  one  is  sure  that  he  is  right.  This  virtue  men  do  us 
the  honor  to  expect  us  to  have.  We  need  not  argue  for 
defiance  flung  out  over  the  backs  of  empty  pews.  I 
simply  say  that  one  can  fill  a  church  at  any  moment  by 
doing  that  which  will  put  the  church  and  them  that  fill 
it  only  further  than  ever  from  the  fulfilment  of  the 
divine  ideal  of  the  Church. 


C6S] 


EDGAR   YOUNG   MULLINS,   D.D.,   LL.D., 

LOUISVILLE^   KY. 

President  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary 
and  professor  of  theology  since  1899;  born  in  Franklin 
Co.,  Miss.,  Jan.  5,  I860;  educated  at  the  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College  of  Texas,  the  Southern  Baptist 
Theological  Seminary,  and  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
Baltimore,  Md. ;  ordained  to  the  Baptist  ministry,  1885; 
pastor  at  Harrodsburg,  Ky.,  1885-88;  Lee  Street  Church, 
Baltimore,  1888-95;  First  Church,  Newton,  Mass.,  1896- 
99;  author  of  Why  is  Christianity  True?;  Axioms  of  Re- 
ligion: A  New  Interpretation  of  the  Baptist  Faith;  Free- 
dom and  Authority  in  Religion. 

WHY  MEN  ARE  INDIFFERENT  TO  THE  CHURCH 

One  might  begin  discussion  of  the  question  with  a 
broad  denial.  More  men  are  interested  in  religion  to- 
day than  ever  before.  But  it  remains  true  that  thou- 
sands are  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  Church.  What 
are  the  causes  of  this  condition?  The  first  and  most 
obvious  answer,  of  course,  is  that  Christianity  has  failed 
to  fulfil  its  mission  completely.  It  has  not  been  morally 
and  spiritually  and  intellectually  as  persuasive  as  it 
should  have  been,  with  the  result  that  men  are  uncon- 
vinced. The  age  is  materialistic  in  a  great  degree.  The 
passionate  pursuit  of  wealth  and  of  material  good  in 
general  is  an  outstanding  mark  of  the  age.  This  is  not 
because  men  are  more  depraved  than  in  other  ages,  but 
because  the  opportunities  for  making  money  and  the 
instruments  of  gain,  facilities  for  acquiring  it,  are  ex- 
traordinary. 

Now  to  spiritualize  such  an  age  is  a  tremendous  task. 
It  is  like  trying  to  overcome  the  power  of  gravitation. 

[64] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  pull  downward  seems  well  nigh  irresistible.  This 
fact  is  clearly  understood.  What  Christians  have  not 
understood  so  well  has  been  the  spiritual  forces  required 
to  overcome  this  downward  pull.  It  is  a  problem  in 
spiritual  mechanics.  The  train  is  prevented  from  going 
off  at  a  tangent  when  rounding  a  curve  by  the  fact  that 
the  outside  track  is  raised  above  the  level  of  the  inside 
one.  The  centripetal  overcomes  the  centrifugal  tend- 
ency. Our  modem  Christianity  has  failed  in  large 
measure  because  it  has  attempted  to  round  the  curve 
on  a  level  track.  It  has  not  grasped  the  problem  of 
spiritual  mechanics  adequately.  All  metals  may  be 
melted  if  the  temperature  is  high  enough.  Instead  of 
raising  the  temperature  (increasing  the  power  of  the 
spiritual  causes)  we  have  tried  other  methods. 

This  raises  the  further  question:  how  has  the  power 
been  drained  off?  How  has  spiritual  energy  come  thus 
to  fail.  One  phase  of  the  answer  is  that  Christianity 
has  not  had  an  opportunity  to  develop  normally.  By 
normal,  I  mean  ethical  development.  The  spiritual  life 
in  Christianity  blossoms  and  fruits  in  ethics.  Read  the 
New  Testament  anywhere  for  confirmation  of  this  state- 
ment. Paul's  epistles,  as  well  as  the  gospels,  throb  with 
ethical  passion.  Our  age  calls  for  ethical  readjustment 
in  a  thousand  forms.  Civilization  is  complex.  It  is 
like  an  automobile  in  complexity  and  rapidity.  But  it 
has  been  too  largely  without  the  ethical  lubricant  essen- 
tial to  smooth-running.  The  moral  sense  of  the  modern 
man  has  revolted  at  what  he  regarded  as  the  indifference 
of  Christianity  to  moral  and  social  relations.  This 
defect  is  in  process  of  correction,  however,  and  social 
questions  are  gradually  coming  in  for  proper  attention. 

The  ethical  and  social  shortcoming  of  the  Churches 

[65] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

has  been  due  in  part  to  the  new  intellectual  issues. 
Ultra-conservatism  has  often  rendered  Christian  think- 
ers rigidly  inflexible  in  their  attitude  to  scientific  and 
philosophic  truth.  On  the  other  hand  modern  culture, 
scientific  and  philosophic,  has  often  made  false  issues 
with  Christianity.  The  legitimate  moral  and  social  task 
has  thus  often  been  neglected  for  an  intellectual  one. 
The  train  stops  running  when  you  begin  to  tinker  with 
the  running  gear.  You  cannot  repair  the  driving-wheel 
of  the  engine  and  run  sixty  miles  an  hour  at  the  same 
time.  This  fact  is  one  of  the  most  important  keys  to 
the  present  situation. 

This  leads,  naturally,  to  the  question  of  creed  sub- 
scription. Are  men  kept  out  of  the  churches  by  creed 
requirements?  The  question  is  not  easy  to  answer.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  few,  if  any,  evangelical  churches  require 
subscription  to  elaborate  creeds  in  order  to  gain  church 
membership.  Some  denominations  require  teachers  and 
preachers  to  sign  such  creeds,  but  not  the  membership 
at  large.  Many  denominations  require  exceedingly 
simple  beliefs  for  church  membership.  The  lordship  of 
Jesus  Christ,  faith  in  him,  submission  to  him,  and  to 
baptism  in  his  name,  practically  cover  the  requirements 
for  church  membership  in  the  denomination  to  which 
I  belong.  Yet,  no  doubt,  many  stay  out  of  the  churches 
because  of  supposed  credal  requirements.  This  point 
needs  clarifying  to  the  general  public. 

The  question  has  been  raised  whether  a  simple  creed 
like  that  advocated  by  Abraham  Lincoln  would  remove 
the  indifference  of  men  to  the  churches.  Lincoln  is 
quoted  as  saying:  "Whenever  any  church  will  inscribe 
over  its  altar,  as  its  sole  qualification  for  membership, 
the  Saviour's  condensed  statement  of  the  substance  of 

1661 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

both  law  and  gospel,  *Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  church 
will  I  join  with  all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul." 

To  my  thinking,  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  such  a 
simple  creed  would  not  remove  the  indifference  of  men 
to  the  claims  of  the  churches.  This  conviction  is  based 
on  two  facts.  First,  the  proposed  creed  does  not  express 
the  substance  of  the  law  and  the  gospel.  It  does  sum 
up,  broadly,  the  law  and  the  prophets.  But  nowhere 
is  it  given  in  the  New  Testament  as  the  "substance  of 
the  gospel."  The  further  fact  is,  that  there  is  already 
in  existence  a  church  which  has  this  simple  creed  as 
the  basis  of  membership :  Love  to  God  and  love  to  man. 
This  church  makes  little  or  nothing  of  Christ's  relation 
to  faith,  and  thus  avoids  the  sharp  clash  with  modern 
thought  at  the  most  vital  point.  And  yet,  this  church, 
with  this  creed,  is  one  of  the  smallest  and  weakest  of  all 
American  Churches.  Men  do  not  flock  to  it  because  of 
its  simplified  creed. 

Two  things  have  been  established  by  history.  One  is 
that  ethical  culture  alone  does  not  and  cannot  an- 
swer man's  religious  needs.  The  second  is  that  re- 
ligion apart  from  Christ's  revelation  and  his  personal 
mediation  of  the  knowledge  and  power  of  God  has 
never  proven  ethically  and  spiritually  effective  on  a 
large  scale.  Most  modern  philosophic  views  of  God 
implicitly  borrow  from  Jesus  even  where  they  deny 
him  as  revealer  of  God.  When  the  conception  of  God 
becomes  simply  philosophic  it  at  once  becomes  abstract, 
unstable,  and  remote.  As  a  vine  cannot  climb  a  moon- 
beam so  the  soul  cannot  subsist  on  such  an  abstraction. 
This  is  not  to  deny  the  validity  of  philosophy  or  its 

[67] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

function,  but  only  to  assert  that  it  must  reckon  with 
Jesus  and  his  creative  work  in  the  soul.  It  is  with  Jesus 
as  a  Doer,  as  a  historic  Energy,  that  modern  culture 
must  reckon. 

I  come  thus  to  the  most  central  phase  of  the  modem 
indifference  to  the  claims  of  the  churches  so  far  as  intel- 
lectual culture  is  involved.  In  our  time  the  reality  of  the 
spiritual  world  has  been  called  in  question  in  many  ways. 
Doubt  has  been  diffused  from  a  thousand  sources. 
Already  borne  on  a  strong  tide  of  materialism  men 
have  readily  set  their  sails  to  catch  the  winds  of  doubt. 
The  breach  between  "faith"  and  "thought"  has  thus 
become  wider,  until  within  the  last  decade  or  two.  Most 
of  the  indifference  to  religion  has  not  been  due  to  clearly 
defined  anti-religious  views,  but  to  a  widely  diffused 
atmosphere  of  doubt  and  uncertainty.  This  has  arisen 
from  a  widespread  confusion  of  thought  regarding  a 
number  of  fundamental  points.  Most  of  them  have 
been  as  unnecessary  as  they  have  been  inevitable  under 
existing  conditions.  The  remedy  lies  in  a  clearer  grasp 
of  fundamental  principles  in  the  worlds  of  thought  and 
of  religious  experience.  I  proceed  to  note  some  of  these 
confusions. 

The  first  and  fundamental  confusion  of  thought  has 
been  with  regard  to  spheres  of  reality.  There  is  a 
physical,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  universe.  But  in  much 
modern  thought  the  spiritual  universe  has  been  cancelled 
entirely.  Men  have  been  so  overpowered  by  the  great- 
ness of  nature  that  they  have  been  unable  to  hear  the 
voice  of  God  within.  Yet  we  are  rapidly  coming  back 
to  the  spiritual  interpretation  of  the  world.  Philoso- 
phers and  scientific  students  of  religion  alike  are  recog- 
nizing that  the  world  of  spirit  is  as  real  as  the  world  of 

[68] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

matter.  I  name  as  representatives  of  this  type  of 
thought  men  like  the  late  Professor  Borden  P.  Bowne 
and  William  James  in  America,  and  Professor  Schiller 
in  England,  Professor  Eucken  in  Germany  and  Pro- 
fessor Bergson  in  France.  Bitter  attacks  are  being 
made  upon  these  thinkers  by  advocates  of  the  mechan- 
ical theory  of  the  world,  but  in  vain.  The  data  of  re- 
ligious experience  are  slowly  yielding  an  impregnable 
foundation  for  philosophy,  and  reality  is  acquiring  even 
for  the  philosophic  and  scientific  thinker  a  new  dimen- 
sion. 

A  second  confusion  of  thought  has  grown  out  of 
the  one  just  named.  It  is  a  confusion  as  to  the  stand- 
ards or  criteria  of  truth.  Science  has  insisted  that  "ex- 
planation" is  simply  showing  the  quantitative  equiva- 
lence of  cause  and  effect.  Conservation  or  continuity 
in  the  physical  sense,  is  thus  made  the  measure  of  all 
things.  A  "truth"  is  whatever  can  be  so  demonstrated. 
But  we  are  coming  to  see  that  truth  is  not  so  limited. 
There  are  personal  causes  as  well  as  physical.  The  soul 
of  man  and  the  Spirit  of  God  interact  and  truth  arises 
thus.  The  world  of  spiritual  reality  yields  truth  then, 
just  as  does  the  world  of  physical  reality.  But  the 
criterion  of  truth  here  is  no  longer  continuity.  It 
is  not  a  physical  standard  of  measurement  at  all 
but  spiritual.  A  recognition  of  this  distinction  will 
clear  up  a  great  deal  of  confusion  of  thought  among 
moderns. 

A  third  form  of  confusion  of  thought  has  been  in 
relation  to  the  distinction  between  religion  on  the  one 
hand  and  science  and  philosophy  on  the  other.  Science 
in  the  strict  sense  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  religious 
life.    It  deals  with  phenomena.    Philosophy  rationalizes 

[69] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  data  supplied  by  science.  Neither  of  these  processes 
is  identical  with  religion.  Religion  is  a  life  adjustment 
of  man  toward  God  in  order  to  moral  and  spiritual 
redemption.  Religion  equips  man  for  life's  battles. 
Primarily  it  is  not  intended  as  a  solution  of  his  intellec- 
tual problems,  although,  of  course,  intellectual  problems 
always  follow.  But  religion  need  not  wait  on  rational- 
ism, and  this  is  the  fundamental  fact.  A  man  has  a 
right  to  trust  God  and  experimentally  demonstrate  his 
existence  and  redeeming  power  without  waiting  for  a 
coercive  philosophic  demonstration  of  God's  existence. 
And  yet  a  great  part  of  modem  indifference  to  religion 
is  due  to  the  supreme  fallacy  of  supposing  that  the  right 
to  believe  is  based  on  such  demonstration.  Philosophy 
as  a  merely  rational  process  is  forever  in  a  state  of  un- 
stable equilibrium,  and  hence  cannot  afford  a  basis  for 
religion  in  the  broad  sense.  That  is  to  say,  religion  is 
under  no  necessity  of  waiting  for  philosophic  credentials 
before  beginning  its  work.  A  new  philosophy  indeed 
is  arising  which  starts  from  religious  experience  itself, 
and  its  stability  is  guaranteed  by  the  solid  foundation 
thus  secured.  The  philosophy  of  religion  is  more  and 
more  becoming  not  an  abstract  or  speculative  system, 
but  the  rational  and  systematic  explanation  of  religious 
experience. 

Now,  to  sum  up  what  has  been  said  above,  the  chief 
need  to-day  in  order  to  remove  the  indifference  of  men 
to  the  church  (so  far  as  the  hindrance  is  intellectual) 
is  a  clarification  of  the  relations  between  science  and 
philosophy  and  religion.  The  independent  rights  of 
religion,  in  other  words,  must  be  asserted.  Confused 
and  false  conceptions  of  the  function  of  science  and 
philosophy  must  be  removed.    A  clear  grasp  of  the  real 

E70] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  fundamental  place  of  religion  as  a  human  necessity 
must  be  achieved. 

When  the  above  confusions  of  thought  are  removed; 
when  the  spiritual  imiverse  is  recognized  as  a  sphere  of 
reality  in  contradistinction  to  the  physical;  when  per- 
sonality and  personal  interaction  are  recognized  as  data 
to  be  accepted,  not  explained  away;  and  when  physical 
continuity  ceases  to  be  the  sole  criterion  of  explanation 
and  standard  of  truth,  then  two  results  will  follow.  The 
first  will  be  the  disappearence,  in  great  measure,  of  al- 
leged contradictions  between  science  and  religion.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  right  of  each  to  its  criterion  of 
truth  and  explanation  is  unquestionable.  Theology  will 
be  absorbed  less  in  defending  Christianity  against 
attacks  of  science  because  it  will  be  seen  that  the  al- 
leged' conflicts  do  not  exist.  The  energy  of  the  Church 
can  then  expend  itself  normally  in  the  constructive  work 
of  building  the  spiritual  edifice  in  the  human  soul  and  in 
society. 

The  second  result  of  the  removal  of  confusions  of 
thought  will  be  the  return  of  men  to  religion  like  thirsty 
travelers  across  the  desert  who  see  an  oasis  and  the 
gleam  of  a  fountain  in  the  distance.  The  false  barriers 
being  removed,  the  needless  obstructions  destroyed,  the 
eternal  quest  of  man  for  God  will  reassert  itself.  By 
a  law  of  spiritual  gravitation  men  will  turn  to  Christ 
for  the  surest  and  most  adequate  knowledge  of  God. 
He  is  the  "substance"  of  the  gospel  and  of  the  law. 
Love  to  God  and  to  our  neighbor  as  mediated  through 
him  will  become  the  ideal  of  religion  and  of  ethics.  Let 
it  be  understood  that  I  am  not  here  speaking  of  the 
metaphysical  doctrine  of  Christ's  person  in  any  of  the 
speculative  forms  in  which  it  has  appeared  in  history. 

[71] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Nor  am  I  referring  to  creed  subscription  as  a  mere  in- 
tellectual or  formal  matter  at  all.  I  am  referring  rather 
to  the  religious  act  and  process,  the  vital  union  of  man 
with  God,  and  redemption  from  the  corruption  and 
power  of  sin.  The  problem  of  his  person  will,  of  course, 
always  arise  with  men  who  know  experientially  his 
redeeming  power.  And  this  will  find  various  forms  of 
statement  and  solution.  But  the  intellectual  phases  of 
religion  will  be  secondary.  Vital  religion  will  precede 
the  intellectual  formulation  thereof. 

I  said  men  will  come  to  Christ  by  a  "spiritual  gravi- 
tation." This  assertion  is  based  on  two  facts.  One  is 
the  inconclusiveness  of  mere  intellectual  formulations 
of  the  doctrine  of  God  and  the  religions  of  life.  They  do 
not  answer  man's  religious  needs.  The  other  fact  is 
that  Christ  includes  all  the  values  in  other  forms  of 
teaching.  He  cannot  be  transcended.  He  is  our  re- 
ligious horizon  in  spite  of  ourselves.  We  may  ascend 
to  undreamed  of  heights  of  thought.  He  expands  with 
our  intellectual  horizon.  Above  all,  he  supplies  the 
power  men  need  for  the  realization  of  the  religious  and 
ethical  ideal.  Churches  will  grow  in  wisdom  in  pro- 
portion as  they  make  Christ  central  in  their  life ;  in  pro- 
portion as  they  refuse  to  bind  elaborate  metaphysical 
creeds  upon  men's  consciences  and  hearts ;  in  proportion 
as  they  clear  the  way  for  the  approach  of  men,  who 
hunger  for  religion,  to  the  Redeemer  of  men.  The 
doing  of  his  will  will  be  found  to  be  the  road  to  blessed- 
ness and  peace  and  power. 


[72] 


JAMES   ORR,   D.D., 

GLASGOW^   SCOTLAND 

Late  professor  of  apologetics  and  theology,  Theological  Col- 
lege of  United  Free  Church,  Glasgow,  since  1901 ;  born  in 
Glasgow,  April  11,  1844;  died  Sept.  6,  1913;  educated  at 
Glasgow  University  and  the  Theological  Hall  of  United 
Presbyterian  Church;  minister  of  East  Bank  United  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Hawick,  1874-91 ;  professor  of  church  his- 
tory at  Theological  College,  Glasgow,  of  the  United  Pres- 
.byterian  Church,  1891-1901;  author  of  The  Christian  View 
of  God  and  the  World;  the  Supernatural  in  Christianity; 
the  Ritschlian  Theology  and  the  Evangelical  Faith;  Neg- 
lected Factors  in  the  Study  of  the  Early  Progress  of  Chris- 
tianity; Early  Church  History  and  Literature;  Elliot 
Lectures  on  the  Progress  of  Dogma;  Essays  on  Ritschlian- 
ism;  The  Image  of  God  in  Man  and  Its  Defacement;  The 
Problem  of  the  Old  Testament;  The  Bible  Under  Trial; 
The  Virgin  Birth  of  Christ;  The  Resurrection  of  Jesus; 
Sidelights  on  Christian  Doctrine;  Revelation  and  Inspira- 
tion; Faith  of  a  Modern  Christian;  Sin  as  a  Problem  of 
To-day. 

I  AM  not  sure  that  I  can  contribute  anything  that  will 
be  felt  to  be  of  much  value  on  the  questions  you  send  me 
as  to  the  indifference  of  multitudes  to  the  claims  of  the 
Church,  and  the  form  to  be  taken  by  a  present-day  creed 
and  theology  for  the  Church.  The  religious  indiffer- 
ence of  a  vast  number  of  people  is  unquestionable,  but, 
great  as  is  my  respect  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  I  do  not 
think  that  the  remedy  would  lie  in  such  a  simplification 
of  the  qualifications  for  church  membership  as  he  pro- 
poses. The  "rock"  on  which  Jesus  himself  proposed  to 
build  his  Church  involved  confession  of  his  divine  son- 
ship  and  messiahship,  and  it  is  not  my  experience 
that  it  is  the  churches  which  depart  from  a  warm  faith 
and  earnest  preaching  of  the  truths  hitherto  called 

[73] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

evangelical  which  succeed  in  attracting  members,  but 
the  churches  and  congregations  which  are  most  faith- 
ful in  their  adherence  to  and  preaching  of  these 
truths.  "The  power  of  God  unto  salvation"  lies  as 
much  as  ever  it  did  in  the  preaching  of  "Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified,"  with  all  the  implications 
which  these  words  contained  in  the  mind  of  the  apostle 
about  man's  need  as  a  sinner,  and  Christ's  redeeming 
work  as  a  Saviour,  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the 
individual  heart  and  conscience.  I  quite  agree  that 
there  is  room  for  much  simplification  of  statement  in 
the  creeds  of  the  churches,  but  I  look  with  complete  dis- 
trust on  many  of  the  new  theologies  which  seem  to  me 
to  part  with  most  things  that  are  vital  in  the  Christian 
gospel,  and  am  disposed  to  attribute  to  the  prevalence 
of  these  defective  teachings  much  of  the  powerlessness  of 
the  churches,  and  increase  of  indifference  of  which  com- 
plaint is  made.  I  agree  also,  of  course,  that  any  true 
theology  cannot  be  out  of  accord  with  "the  assured  re- 
sults of  science,"  but  then  I  am  by  no  means  disposed  to 
take  for  granted  that  all  the  things  which  are  sometimes 
proclaimed  as  "assured  results"  of  science  are  really  so, 
and  am  far  more  convinced  of  the  assured  character  of 
the  fundamental  truths  affecting  Christ's  salvation,  than 
I  am  of  many  of  the  theories  put  forward  in  the  name  of 
science,  which  may  seem  to  conflict  with  these  truths. 
I  do  not  believe  there  is  the  slightest  hope  of  checking 
the  present-day  rush  of  so  vast  a  part  of  our  popula- 
tion into  materialism,  secularism,  and  sensuous  pleasure 
on  any  lower  ground  than  that  which  I  have  indicated. 
I  read,  for  example,  the  other  week  a  report  of  the  au- 
tumnal meetings  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Unitarian 
Association  at  SheflSeld.    It  was  there  laid  down  that 

[74] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  missionary  work  of  the  churches  was  a  mistake,  and 
that  Unitarians  did  not  feel  it  their  business  to  take 
part  in  such  work.  I  read  at  the  same  time  an  article  in 
the  Christian  Register,  the  organ,  I  imderstand,  of 
American  Unitarianism,  in  which  the  writer,  a  Mr. 
Sunderland,  deplored  that  the  American  Unitarians 
were  doing  nothing  to  engender  missionary  interest.  It 
was  added  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  cannot  even  pro- 
vide men  for  its  own  ministry.  The  president  of  a 
Unitarian  school  in  Pennsylvania  had  declared  that  not 
a  single  one  of  the  twenty-one  students  in  his  care  came 
from  a  Unitarian  home.  As  to  the  creed,  I  expressed 
my  views  on  that  subject  at  some  length  in  a  paper  sent 
on  request  to  The  Homiletic  Review  for  April,  1907, 
and  need  not  do  more  here  than  refer  to  that  article, 
which  expresses  my  present  sentiments.  (We  have 
deemed  it  advisable  to  give  the  article  referred  to  by 
Professor  Orr. — Editors.)  : 

"What  are  the  essential  articles  of  a  present-day 
theology  such  as  may  be  used  as  a  system  of  faith  by  the 
Church?" 

There  is  a  prior  question  which  might  be  raised — 
How  far  is  it  desirable  for  churches  to  have  a  creed,  or 
articles  of  faith,  to  which  subscription  is  required  as  a 
test  of  membership  or  office?  Believing,  myself,  how- 
ever, that  there  is  a  common  Christian  faith  (an  old 
word  for  the  creed  was  "the  belief") ,  which  the  churches 
and  the  individual  Christian  ought  to  be  able  intelli- 
gently to  state,  and  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church 
publicly  to  confess,  preach,  and  defend,  I  have  no  pre- 
liminary exception  to  take  to  the  form  of  the  question  as 
put.  I  have  no  favor  for  hazy,  nebulous  thinking  on 
great  Christian  verities,  and  hold  that  a  church  will  be 

[75] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

strong  and  robust  in  proportion  as  it  throws  its  own 
mind  on  the  things  it  believes,  and  is  faithful  and  bold 
in  its  avowal  of  them. 

If  I  made  any  criticism  on  the  question  proposed, 
it  would  be  in  the  expression  "essential  articles  of  a 
present-day  theology."  The  first  position  I  should  be 
disposed  to  lay  down  is  that  a  creed,  to  satisfy  present- 
day  needs,  should  be  the  simple  expression  of  the  faith 
of  the  heart,  and  should  be  as  brief,  untechnical,  and  un- 
theological  as  it  is  possible  to  make  it,  without  parting 
with  anything  essential.  Faith  does  not  rest  on  the- 
ology, but  theology  is  the  elaborated  result  of  intellec- 
tual reflection  on  the  contents  of  the  faith.  The  facts 
and  doctrines  of  Christianity  were  there  before  men 
began  to  work  them  up  into  carefully  articulated  sys- 
tems. 

I  am  not  sure,  also,  whether  any  special  meaning 
underlies  the  phrase  "present-daj- theology"  in  this  con- 
nection. There  may  be  attached  to  this  expression,  by 
some,  the  idea  that  theology  is  constantly  changing,  and 
that  it  is  the  business  of  the  theology  of  to-day  (the 
"New  Theology")  to  provide  the  Church  with  a  new  set 
of  articles  in  room  of  the  obsolete  creeds  on  which  its 
faith  has  hitherto  been  nurtured.  Old  doctrines  are  to 
drop  out  and  disappear;  new  formulations  are  to  take 
their  place  in  consonance  with  the  new  conditions  of 
thought  and  ruling  scientific  ideas  of  the  age  (evolution 
and  the  like) .  I  may  say  at  once  that  I  have  no  faith 
in  this  attempt  to  make  the  Christian  creed  always 
express  the  last  new  thing  in  an  age's  philosophy, 
science,  criticism,  and  religious  speculation.  To  me  the 
faith  of  the  Church  is  not  something  always  changing, 
but  something  which,  in  its  essential  contents  and  im- 

[76] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mutable  landmarks,  lies  already  there  before  us,  com- 
plete in  the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture.  The  only 
Christianity  I  am  prepared  to  acknowledge  is  the  Chris- 
tianity given  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world  in  the  first 
age  by  Christ  himself  and  his  apostles;  vitally  to  alter 
this  is,  in  my  belief,  to  go  back  from  the  foundation  of 
Christianity  altogether. 

When,  then,  I  am  asked.  What  are  the  essential 
articles  which  may  be  used  to-day  as  a  system  of  faith  by 
the  Church?  I  reply  with  all  good  conscience  that  I  am 
not  in  search  of  a  new  creed  (except  as  to  simplification 
of  form),  and  that  I  do  not  know  of  any  important 
article  of  the  ordinary  Protestant  and  evangelical  faith 
which  I  am  prepared  to  surrender,  or  think  should  be, 
or  need  be,  surrendered  by  the  Church.  On  particular 
points,  as,  e,g,,  baptism  or  high  theological  questions 
like  predestination,  there  probably  will  always  be  a 
measure  of  divergence  of  view ;  it  does  not  follow  that  at 
least  the  sharpness  of  divergence  may  not  be  consider- 
ably lessened.  But  taking  the  Protestant  faith  as  a 
whole,  I  am  perfectly  convinced,  notwithstanding  all 
that  is  said  of  "new  theologies,"  that,  were  the  several 
churches  to  sit  down  together  to-morrow  to  put  in  black 
and  white  what  they  conceived  to  be  the  essential  and 
abiding  contents  of  the  Christian  verity,  the  outcome 
would  not  be  very  different  in  substance  from  what  we 
have  been  familiar  with  in  the  older  creeds. 

I  firmly  believe  that  such  a  consensus  of  faith  would 
leave  intact,  for  example,  all  the  articles  of  the  old 
Apostles'  Creed.  I  know  the  storm  that  rages  in  some 
quarters  about  the  article  on  the  virgin  birth  and  the 
article  on  the  Lord's  bodily  resurrection.  I  am  greatly 
cheered  to  see  Professor  Briggs  coming  out  so  manfully 

[77] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  defense  of  the  former  article,  and  I  should  like  to  see 
the  Church  that  proposed  to  its  members  to  eliminate 
either  of  these  great  articles  from  its  creed,  or  even  to 
make  them  open  questions.  It  could  not  be  done  at  this 
hour  even  in  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany,  despite 
all  one  hears  (often  with  exaggeration)  of  the  ration- 
alism of  that  country.  Similarly,  I  do  not  believe  that 
such  a  conference  of  churches  would  result  in  the  elimi- 
nation of  any  important  article  of  the  later  creeds 
which  Protestant  churches,  reverting  ever  to  Scripture 
as  a  basis,  have  generally  accepted.  The  "fall"  is  put 
in  question  by  evolution ;  but  unless  sin  is  made  a  neces- 
sity, and  deprived  of  its  heinousness  before  God,  which 
made  redemption  needful,  its  origin  must  ever  be 
sought  in  the  voluntary  departure  from  rectitude  of 
a  creature  who  had  the  power  to  love  obediently. 
The  Trinity  is  called  "metaphysical,"  but  we  can- 
not be  faithful  to  the  revelation  in  the  gospel  if  we 
fail  to  recognize  in  it  a  God  subsisting  and  re- 
vealed, in  the  words  of  the  baptismal  confession,  as 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  The  trend  of  the  New 
Theology  is  to  humanitarianism  in  Christology,  but  the 
Church,  so  long  as  she  adheres  to  the  faith  of  the  apos- 
tles, will  never,  we  may  be  sure,  depart  from  her  testi- 
mony to  her  Lord  as  perfect  God  and  perfect  Man — ^the 
Word  made  flesh.  There  are  all  sorts  of  speculations 
on  the  atonement,  but  any  "moral"  theory  which  denies 
the  true  vicarious  death,  and  atoning  cleansing  power  of 
the  blood  of  Christ,  will  never  satisfy  the  conscience  or 
faith  of  the  general  Christian  comjnunity  or  furnish  an 
evangel  to  preach  to  the  masses.  "Justification"  is 
thought  a  "forensic"  term,  but  it  can  never  be  twisted 
to  mean  anything  but  what  it  signifies  in  Paul — a  set- 

[78] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ting  right  with  God  through  his  own  free  act  of  pardon 
and  acceptance  for  Christ's  sake.  There  are  eschatolo- 
gies  innumerable;  but  while  the  mysteries  of  the  future 
are  acknowledged,  we  have  no  expectation  of  seeing 
the  Church  commit  herself  to  either  universalism  or 
annihilation,  or  even  make  a  dogma  of  second  probation. 
Let  veils  lie  where  Scripture  leaves  them.  All  this,  no 
doubt,  is  dreadfully  old-fashioned.  Be  it  so;  the  time 
will  show  whether  it  is  true  or  false. 


[79] 


JUNIUS  BENJAMIjST  remensnyder, 
D.D.,  LL.D., 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

Pastor  of  St.  James's  Lutheran  Church,  New  York,  since 
1881;  president  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  since 
1911 ;  born  at  Staunton,  W.  Va.,  Feb.  24,  1843;  graduated 
from  Pennsylvania  College,  Gettysburg,  I86I,  and  from  the 
Gettysburg  Theological  Seminary  in  1865;  served  in  the 
Civil  War  in  131st  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  1862-63;  or- 
dained to  the  Lutheran  ministry,  1865;  pastor  in  Phila- 
delphia, 1865-74,  and  Savannah,  Ga.,  1874-80;  author  of 
Heavenward:  or.  The  Race  for  the  Crown  of  Life;  Doom 
Eternal:  The  Bible  and  Church  Doctrine  of  Everlasting 
Punishment;  The  Work  and  Personality  of  Luther;  Lu- 
theran Literature:  Its  Distinctive  Traits  and  Excellencies; 
The  Sia;  Days  of  Creation:  Lectures  on  the  Mosaic  Account 
of  the  Creation,  Fall,  and  Deluge;  The  Real  Presence;  The 
Lutheran  Manual;  The  Atonement  and  Modern  Thought; 
Mysticism:  Psychology,  History  and  Relation  to  Scrip- 
ture, Church  and  Christian  Life;  the  Post-Apostolic  Age 
and  Current  Religious  Problems;  The  Problems  of  Life: 
A  Study  of  Eucken, 

The  Church  was  organized  by  Jesus  Christ  for  many 
purposes.  He  preached  a  kingdom  of  righteousness, 
and  the  Church  was  to  express  the  visible  aspect  of 
this  kingdom.  It  was  to  be  the  communion  of  saints, 
the  family  of  believers,  the  household  of  God. 

But  first  and  foremost  it  was  to  be  for  the  promul- 
gation of  Christianity.  It  was  when  Peter  had  made 
his  great  confession  of  the  truth  of  Christ's  divinity  that 
the  Lord  made  answer:  "Upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it"  (Matt.  16:  18) .    So  St.  Paul,  who  "had  the 

[80] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mind  of  Christ,"  calls  it  *'the  church  of  the  living  God, 
the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  Again,  "And  the 
Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as  were  being 
saved"  (Acts  2:  47). 

These  Scriptural  declarations  make  it  clear  that  the 
primary  purpose  of  the  Church  was  to  propagate  the 
gospel.  It  was  to  preach  and  set  forth  to  men  the  in- 
carnation. The  Lord  himself  having  ascended  he 
founded  the  Church  to  continue  his  life,  his  truth  and 
his  work  on  the  earth.  It  was  to  fulfU  his  last  great 
command:  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  whole  creation." 

Now  what  is  the  gospel?  The  record  of  it  is  given 
us  in  the  New  Testament.  Its  distinctive  features  are 
that  in  Christ  "God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh" ;  that  he 
came  as  "the  Lamb  of  God  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the 
world" ;  that  he  revealed  the  will  of  the  Father  to  save 
men  by  faith  in  his  well-beloved  and  only  begotten  Son ; 
that  dying  he  rose  again  and  thereby  "abolished  death, 
and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  by  the  gospel." 

These  New  Testament  statements  the  historic 
Church  has  summarized  in  brief  and  simple  form  in  the 
Apostles'  and  Nicene  creeds.  They  comprise  the  es- 
sential and  distinctive  features  of  Christianity.  In  the 
basis  to  which  you  refer,  as  presented  by  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, our  Lord  is  referring  only  to  "the  law,"  and  not 
to  the  gospel.  That  was  indeed  an  aldequate  creed  for 
Judaism,  but  "the  law  came  by  Moses";  Christianity 
stands  for  the  gospel  of  "grace  and  truth  which  came  by 
Jesus  Christ."  How  could  that  be  called  Christianity 
which  would  have  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
faith  omitted?  It  would  be  what  even  the  modernist 
Loisy,  in  his  book  The  Gospel  and  the  Church,  calls  "a 

[81] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

religion  without  Christianity,  a  gospel  without  Christ." 
The  Church  exists  as  the  instrument  for  the  dissemina- 
tion of  Christianity.  And  when  it  ceases  to  stand  for 
those  very  doctrines  which  differentiate  the  Christian 
from  the  natural  religions,  it  simply  ceases  to  be  Chris- 
tianity. 

To  the  objection:  "But  present-day  people  will  no 
longer  receive  these  doctrines,  and  the  Church  must 
adapt  its  faith  to  the  demands  of  the  natural  reason," 
there  are  three  answers.  First,  such  action  would  be 
dishonest,  if  the  Church  is  to  keep  the  Christian  name. 
Second,  it  would  repudiate  the  whole  historic  prac- 
tise of  the  Church.  From  the  very  beginning,  as 
through  all  the  ages,  the  supernatural  doctrines  of 
Christianity  have  been  opposed  to  the  natural  pride  of 
reason,  being  "unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling  block,  and 
unto  the  Greeks  foolishness"  (I  Cor.  1:  23),  but  never 
did  Christian  preachers  on  that  account  emasculate 
them,  and  pare  them  down  until  they  were  unrecog- 
nizable. 

And  the  third  answer  is,  that  it  is  just  in  these  dis- 
tinctive tenets,  non-acceptable  to  the  natural  man  and 
now  proposed  for  rejection,  has  ever  lain  the  might 
and  power  of  Christianity.  If  the  Church  would  cease 
to  preach  a  divine,  atoning  and  death-conquering 
Saviour,  doubtless  Unitarians,  Jews,  Mohammedans, 
Hindus,  Confucianists,  rationalists,  and  mere  moralists 
would  have  no  objection  to  accepting  him,  but  inasmuch 
as  this  acceptance  would  involve  no  new  creation  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  it  would  have  for  them  neither  in- 
terest nor  spiritual  value. 

It  would  be  as  Amiel  protests  in  the  Journal  Intime, 
when  he  went  to  hear  a  rationalist  minister:  "The  com- 

[82] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mon  people  complain  of  such  a  barren  gospel,  *they 
have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they 
have  laid  him,'  and  I  agree  with  them." 

So  ex-President  Eliot,  when  lately  declaring  that 
the  orthodox  doctrines  are  unpreachable,  at  the  same 
time  admits  that  these  same  orthodox  churches  are 
ardently  carrying  the  torch  of  light  to  the  darkened 
lands  of  heathendom,  "while  the  liberal  churches  are 
the  ones  who  sit  complacently  at  home  and  never  lift  a 
finger."  So  Professor  Kahnis,  in  his  History  of  Ger- 
man Protestantism,  shows  that  the  great  movement  of 
rationalism  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
Germany  was  so  barren  of  spiritual  fervor  that  it  de- 
populated the  churches,  and  only  a  genuine  revival  of 
faith  saved  Christianity  from  destruction.  And  Pro- 
fessor Kuenen,  the  great  modern  apostle  of  negative 
higher  criticism,  bewails  the  fact  that  if  it  is  found  out 
that  a  theological  student  has  been  educated  at  the 
Leyden  University,  no  congregation  will  extend  him 
a  call. 

Mystery  and  the  supernatural  must  ever  be  of  the 
essence  of  a  real  religion,  since  it  deals  with  God,  the 
soul,  the  spiritual,  the  eternal  and  infinite.  "Great  is 
the  mystery  of  godliness,"  cries  the  apostle  (I  Tim. 
3:  16). 

Let  Christianity  yield  these  great  features  at  the 
subtle  invitation  of  its  merely  ethical  advocates  or  op- 
ponents, and  it  will  be  shorn  of  the  locks  of  its  power, 
and  will  disappear  from  the  arena,  instead  of  pressing 
onward,  as  it  ever  has,  to  the  conquest  of  the  world. 

Truth  is  one,  and  so  the  Church  will  never  oppose 
established  scientific  facts.  But  the  correlative  is 
equally  true,  that  science  must  never  contradict  the 

[83] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

great  mystic,  spiritual  and  historic  facts  of  religion, 
which  lie  beyond  its  sphere. 

As  to  theology,  it  must  naturally  change,  adapting 
its  philosophic  presentation  of  the  faith  to  enlarged 
knowledge  and  changed  environment.  As  Cardinal 
Newman,  in  his  Development  of  Christian  Doctrine, 
points  the  striking  aphorism:  "a  truth  must  often 
change  to  preserve  its  identity."  But  it  only  changes 
in  outer  form,  while  it  preserves  its  essence. 

Such  essential  identity  Christianity  has  ever  re- 
tained, amid  the  superficial  changes  of  human  progi'ess 
that  have  beset  its  history.  In  this  identity  lies  its  vi- 
tality, as  "the  power  and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation." And  in  this,  too,  lies  the  secret  of  its  ever 
growing  life  and  power,  until  it  will  establish  its  ascend- 
ency as  the  one  universal  religion  of  mankind. 


[84] 


HENRY   CLAY   SHELDON,   D.D., 

BOSTON,   MASS. 

Professor  of  systematic  theology  at  Boston  University 
since  1895;  born  at  Martinsburg,  N.  Y.,  March  12,  1845; 
graduated  from  Yale,  1867,  and  from  the  Theological 
School,  Boston  University,  1871;  ordained  to  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  ministry,  1871;  pastor  at  St.  Johnsbury, 
Vt.,  1871-72,  Brunswick,  Me.,  1872-74;  studied  at  Leipsic, 
1874-75;  professor  of  historical  theology  in  Boston  Uni- 
versity, 1875-95;  author  of  History  of  Christian  Doctrine; 
History  of  the  Christian  Church;  System  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine; Unbelief  in  the  Nineteenth  Century;  Sacerdotalism 
in  the  Nineteenth  Century;  Nero  Testament  Theology. 

Several  negative  propositions  are  naturally  suggested 
as  we  seek  to  define  the  theology  adapted  to  meet  pres- 
ent-day demands.  In  the  first  place,  it  would  not  be 
wise  to  attempt  to  reduce  theology  to  a  minimum  out 
of  mere  deference  to  current  expressions  of  impatience 
with  this  order  of  subject  matter.  Even  if  it  be  granted 
that  a  valid  occasion  for  impatience  has  been  afforded, 
we  need  to  inquire  whether  the  occasion  was  anything 
more  substantial  than  the  intrusion  of  a  scholastic  form 
of  theological  discourse  in  connections  where  that  form 
was  not  appropriate.  That  this  is  very  frequently  the 
ground  of  complaint  and  disparagement  cannot  be 
doubted.  Evidence  to  this  effect  is  afforded  by  the  ap- 
peals often  made  to  the  teaching  which  flowed  from  the 
lips  of  Jesus.  This,  it  is  assumed,  was  undogmatic, 
scarcely  weighted  at  all  by  theological  matter.  Now 
what  are  the  facts?  The  words  of  Jesus  are  permeated 
with  theological  substance,  with  fundamental  concep- 
tions respecting  God,  man,  the  interrelations  between 
God  and  man,  the  underlying  design  of  human  history, 

[85] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  the  great  facts  of  human  destiny.  In  wise  accom- 
modation to  the  situation  Jesus  taught  theology,  not  as 
the  scholastic,  but  as  the  prophet  and  poet;  but  most 
assuredly  he  taught  theology.  His  example  furnishes 
no  basis  of  appeal  against  a  good  round  measure  of  the- 
ology, but  only  against  obtruding  the  scholastic  form 
where  it  is  unsuitable. 

A  second  negative  proposition  takes  this  form:  It 
is  not  wise  to  press  overmuch  the  antithesis  between  the 
theoretical  and  the  practical,  to  the  disparagement  of 
the  function  of  theology  and  the  limitation  of  its  scope. 
Doubtless  a  caution  against  unbridled  theorizing  has  its 
place.  A  man  may  mount  so  high  into  the  cloud-land 
of  speculation  as  to  get  out  of  sight  of  recognizable  con- 
nection with  the  domain  of  practical  interests.  But  this 
possibility  in  no  wise  justifies  an  emphatic  disparage- 
ment of  the  theoretical  as  such.  Good  theories  furnish 
an  excellent  ground  for  the  right  ordering  of  life.  The 
wider,  deeper,  more  harmonious,  more  thoroughly  based, 
and  more  thoroughly  grasped  the  theories  are,  the  better 
will  be  the  effect  upon  the  practise.  Teaching  that  is 
armed  with  eminent  efficiency  always  links  practise  with 
theory,  conduct  with  fundamental  principles.  It  is  not 
to  be  overlooked,  however,  that  the  utility  even  of  good 
theories  is  largely  dependent  upon  free  and  hearty  ap- 
propriation. To  impose  by  authority  strict  adherence 
to  a  great  complex  of  theological  conceptions  is  an  ill- 
advised  procedure,  not  to  say  an  odious  usurpation.  At 
the  same  time  it  needs  to  be  affirmed  that  a  Church 
which  does  not  nurture  sufficient  intellectual  life  to  sus- 
tain a  perennial  ambition  to  interpret  the  universe,  God, 
and  man,  up  to  the  limit  of  available  data,  has  evident 
occasion  for  shame  and  contrition. 

[86] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

A  third  negative  proposition  incorporates  the  judg- 
ment that  we  are  not  under  bonds  to  suppose  that  the 
scientific  or  literary  research  of  the  modern  era  has  im- 
posed a  demand  for  a  fundamental  revision  of  theology. 
The  occasion  for  revision  which  comes  from  the  specified 
domains  pertains  almost  wholly  to  peripheral  matters. 
Even  the  most  comprehensive  induction  of  modern 
science,  the  doctrine  of  evolution,  touches  nothing  that 
is  central  in  theology.  It  may  not  fully  agree  with 
some  overtechnical  structures  which  have  been  reared 
by  this  or  that  party  on  isolated  portions  of  the  Bible, 
but  it  takes  not  one  stone  out  of  the  foundations  of 
the  great  catholic  doctrines,  viewed  according  to  their 
essential  aim  and  significance.  The  standard  theistic 
and  soteriological  conceptions  which  enter  into  the  warp 
and  woof  of  the  biblical  revelation  have  by  no  means 
been  routed  by  modem  science.  And  a  like  verdict  may 
be  pronounced  respecting  the  results  of  the  literary 
criticism  which  has  been  so  energetically  cultivated  in 
recent  times.  The  larger  occasion  for  doctrinal  change 
has  come  from  viewing  in  better  perspective  the  data 
of  reason  and  revelation  which  all  along  have  been  ac- 
cessible to  unbiased  vision. 

Room  needs  to  be  made  for  one  more  negative 
proposition,  namely,  that  which  denies  that  a  theology 
approaching  to  normal  efficiency  is  at  all  likely  to  sur- 
vive within  a  so-called  Christian  constituency  which 
rejects,  or  reduces  to  a  meager  renmant,  the  historical 
basis  of  Christianity.  According  to  all  appearances  an 
abstract  religion  is  an  utter  misfit  for  this  world.  It 
lacks  power  to  grip  the  minds  and  hearts  of  embodied 
human  beings.  Talleyrand  spoke  wisely  when,  in  an- 
swer to  the  complaint  of  the  theophilanthropist,  that 

[87] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

his  finely  concocted  religion  would  not  work,  he  ad- 
vised him  to  get  himself  crucified  and  to  rise  from  the 
dead  on  the  third  day.  It  was  the  unwavering  convic- 
tion that  the  gospel  dispensation  was  founded  in  great 
and  marvelous  historical  verities  that  armed  its  early 
votaries  with  victorious  power.  No  theology  which  dis- 
cards or  discredits  those  verities  can  supply  a  compen- 
sating inspiration  and  energy.  Recession  toward  a 
ghostly  and  ineffective  role  will  be  its  inevitable  fortune. 

Coming  to  positive  propositions  we  wish,  in  the  first 
place,  to  express  the  conviction  that  a  theology  suit- 
able for  this  or  any  other  age,  must  be  stanchly  theistic, 
imambiguous  in  its  afiirmation  of  the  personality  of 
God.  It  need  not  construe  divine  personality  in  a 
crudely  anthropomorphic  fashion;  but  the  essential  at- 
tributes of  personality — self -consciousness,  intelligence, 
will,  and  purposive  action — it  must  conserve.  The  mo- 
ment a  theology  relinquishes  any  one  of  these,  or  begins 
to  prate  about  the  suprapersonal,  it  brings  in  an  empty 
substitute  for  the  living  God. 

In  the  second  place,  a  theology  adapted  to  meet  the 
demands  of  this  age,  or  of  any  future  age,  must  ap- 
propriate essentially  the  New  Testament  valuation  of. 
the  person  and  work  of  Christ.  The  plain  reason  is 
that  the  New  Testament  Christ  is  so  linked  at  once 
with  divinity  and  humanity  that,  on  the  one  hand,  he 
makes  God  supremely  near,  apprehensible,  and  effective 
in  appeal,  and  on  the  other  hand,  in  uplifting  men  into 
union  with  God  he  never  transports  them  into  an  un- 
social transcendentalism,  but  rather  fosters  in  them  an 
intimate  sympathy  and  sense  of  relationship  with  their 
fellows. 

In  the  third  place  the  theology  which  squares  with 

[88] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  requirements  of  the  age  will  take  an  honest  account 
of  the  adverse  elements  in  the  world  system  and  of  the 
evil  in  men.  While  distant  by  a  whole  diameter  from 
a  sour  pessimism,  it  will  eschew  affiliation  with  a  weak 
or  mendacious  optimism.  Instead  of  attempting  to  put 
affliction  and  sin  out  of  sight  by  the  silly  expedient  of 
denying  their  real  existence,  it  will  advise  every  hard- 
pressed  wayfarer  to  grasp  the  sure  means  of  victory 
over  them  by  close  union  with  him  who  has  overcome 
the  world. 

Again,  the  theology  which  measures  up  to  present- 
day  demands  will  strongly  insist  that  heart  fellowship 
with  God  is  a  spring  of  satisfaction  and  spiritual  fruit- 
fulness  for  which  there  is  no  equivalent.  Without  mak- 
ing any  false  antithesis  between  the  sacred  and  the  sec- 
ular, or  separating  any  part  of  life  from  the  domain  of 
piety,  it  will  proclaim  that  one  who  does  not  find  in  the 
depths  of  his  soul  that  God  is  his  portion  has  not  yet 
grasped  the  secret  of  true  living. 

Again  the  theology  suited  in  tone  and  content  to 
the  age  will  unite  with  a  high  valuation  of  the  individual 
a  profound  stress  upon  the  obligation  to  work  toward 
a  social  ideal.  The  two  things  are  evidently  quite  har- 
monious, since  the  individual  cannot  come  to  his  best 
save  as  he  fulfils  the  law  of  equal  love  to  the  neighbor 
and  improves  opportunities  to  bless  as  well  as  to  be 
blessed. 

Once  more,  the  theology  which  can  claim  to  be  nor- 
mal, and  thus  suited  to  fulfil  the  deeper  requirements 
of  this  as  of  every  other  age,  will  stress  both  the  neces- 
sity of  a  resolute  purpose  to  bring  in  the  kingdom  of 
righteousness  here  and  now,  and  the  need  of  a  serious 
regard  for  the  life  to  come.    It  will  enforce  considera- 

[893 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tion  of  the  latter  interest,  not  only  because  it  is  too 
great  in  itself  to  be  reasonably  ignored,  but  also  because 
it  is  intrinsically  linked  with  the  former  interest.  A 
man  can  work  with  better  courage  for  the  present  tri- 
umph of  righteousness  under  a  sky  which  has  become 
as  a  transparent  curtain,  through  which  he  catches 
glimpses  of  an  incomparable  inheritance,  than  he  can 
under  a  firmament  which  shuts  him  up  to  a  purely  ter- 
restrial prospect. 


[90] 


AUGUSTUS  HOPKINS  STRONG,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

ROCHESTER^   N.   Y. 

President  and  professor  of  systematic  theology  at  Roches- 
ter Theological  Seminary,  1872-1912;  born  at  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  August  3,  1836;  studied  at  Yale  and  Rochester 
Theological  Seminary,  and  in  Europe;  ordained  to  the 
Baptist  ministry,  1861 ;  pastor  of  the  First  Church,  Haver- 
hill, Mass.,  1861-65;  First  Church,  Cleveland,  O.,  1865- 
72;  author  of  Systematic  Theology;  Philosophy  and  Re- 
ligion; The  Great  Poets  and  Their  Theology;  Christ  in 
Creation  and  Ethical  Monism;  One  Hundred  Chapel  Talks 
to  Theological  Students;  Miscellanies,  Historical  and 
Theological. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  creed  is  only  a  statement  of  the 
law  of  God,  and  it  contains  no  gospel.  Christianity 
means  more  than  this,  in  that  it  provides  a  way  of 
escape  from  the  penalty  and  the  power  of  sin.  It  is  a 
divine  revelation.  That  revelation  is  contained  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  Christ  is  the  center  of  it.  No  creed 
is  a  sufficient  basis  of  Church  unity  that  does  not  de- 
clare Christ's  deity,  preexistence,  incarnation,  miracles, 
atoning  death,  resurrection  and  omnipresence  with  his 
people.  These  will  stand  the  tests  of  science,  and  by 
them  Christians  must  stand. 


[91] 


WILLIAM    ST.    CLAIR   TISDALL,   D.D., 

DEAL,     ENGLAND 

Vicar  of  St.  George  the  Martyr's,  Deal,  Kent;  born  at  Mil- 
ford,  England,  Feb.  19,  1859;  was  graduated  (M.A.,  1st 
class  honors)  from  University  of  New  Zealand;  honorary 
D.D.,  of  University  of  Edinburgh;  deacon,  1882;  priest, 
1883;  Hebrew  and  classical  lecturer,  Bishopsdale  Theo- 
logical College,  Nelson,  New  Zealand,  1883-84;  Vice- 
principal  of  St.  John's  Divinity  School,  Lahore,  1884-85; 
Principal  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  Training  Col- 
lege, Amritsar,  India,  1885-86;  missionary-in-charge  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  Muhammedan  Mission, 
Bombay,  1887-90;  Long  lecturer  on  Islam,  1890-92;  on 
Buddhism,  1900-2  and  1904;  on  Hinduism,  1905;  and  on 
comparative  religion,  1908-09;  secretary  of  the  Persian 
Mission,  1892-94;  literary  missionary  and  translator, 
Ispahan,  Persia,  1894-1900;  author  of  The  Triglott  Gospel 
of  St.  John;  The  Religion  of  the  Crescent;  The  Conver- 
sion of  Armenia;  Sources  of  Islam;  India,  its  History, 
Darkness,  and  Dawn;  Persian  Grammar;  The  Noble  Eight- 
fold Path;  A  Manual  of  Muhammedan  Objections;  The 
Original  Sources  of  the  Qur'an;  Hindustani  Grammar; 
Grammars  of  Gujarati  and  Panjabi;  Religio  Critici,  Chris- 
tianity and  other  Faiths;  Mythic  Christs  and  the  True;  etc. 

PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  IDEA  OF  WHAT  THE 
CHURCH  SHOULD  BE 

President  Lincoln's  opinion,  which  you  quote  in  your 
letter,  sounds  at  first  very  plausible.  It  is  only  when 
one  comes  to  examine  it  that  one  sees  that  it  is  not 
so  simple  as  it  appears,  but  involves  a  great  deal  more 
than  many  people  think. 

What  the  president  probably  meant  was  that  "prac- 
tise is  better  than  precept,"  and  that  "right  knowledge 
is  not  saving  faith."  This,  of  course,  is  very  true.  But 
there  could  be  no  practise  without  precept,  whether 

[92] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

voiced  or  only  conceived  in  the  mind.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary for  the  engine-driver  to  know  all  about  the  science 
of  dynamics,  nor  can  the  man  who  has  thoroughly  stud- 
ied that  science  make  the  engine  go  merely  through  his 
knowledge  of  abstract  principles.  Yet  the  engine  could 
not  be  driven  if  the  principles  of  dynamics  and  a  good 
many  other  sciences  were  not  true.  Long  before  the 
modern  science  of  astronomy  had  arisen,  it  was  as  true 
as  it  is  now  that  "man  goeth  forth  to  his  work  and  to 
his  labour  until  the  evening."  Yet  if  there  were  no 
truth  in  the  principles  of  astronomy,  in  the  facts  upon 
which  the  science  is  based,  there  would  be  no  evening 
and  no  morning, — and  no  man  to  go  forth. 

In  order  to  be  a  good  and  true  Christian  it  is  not 
necessary  to  be  a  profound  theologian:  and  a  profound 
theologian  may  not  be  a  true,  practical  Christian,  or  a 
Christian  at  all.  Yet,  were  there  no  truth  in  Chris- 
tian theology,  were  its  principles  baseless,  there  would 
be  no  Christian  faith,  no  Christian  precepts,  and  hence 
no  Christian  practise. 

To  love  God  and  one's  neighbor  is  very  easy  in- 
deed in  theory:  it  is  only  in  practise  that  we  find  any 
difficulty  about  the  matter.  Even  to  support  the  theory 
certain  very  definite,  dogmatic  information  is  logically 
needed,  about  God  in  the  first  place,  and  about  our 
neighbor  in  the  second.  The  precept  does,  perhaps, 
seem  axiomatic  to  us  now;  but  no  nation,  no  philoso- 
pher, ever  discovered  it  until  Mosaic  times,  and  then 
it  is  rightly  claimed  to  have  been  a  revelation.  For 
ages  afterward  no  one  except  a  few  Israelites  accepted 
the  precept  as  even  theoretically  admirable.  Even 
to-day  none  but  people  brought  up  amid  Christian 
surroundings  pay  it  so  much  as  the  tribute  of  barren 

1932 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

admiration.  A  Moslem  would  not  admire  it  at  all, 
still  less  would  a  Hindu  or  a  genuine  Buddhist. 
Nietzsche  and  his  followers  would  hold  it  to  be  per- 
nicious nonsense. 

Before  we  can  reasonably  accept  "the  Saviour's  con- 
densed statement  of  the  substance  of  both  law  and 
gospel,"  as  Lincoln  calls  it,  we  need  to  know  that  God 
is  worthy  of  our  love.  We  also  need  a  very  strong 
motive-power  to  set  us  working,  if  we  are  to  put  the 
rule  into  practise.  How  are  we  to  know  him  whom 
many  wise  men  call  "the  Unknowable"  ?  What  motive- 
power  can  we  find?  For  the  quality  of  love  is  no  more 
"strained"  than  that  of  mercy, — ^much  less  so  in  fact. 
Of  course,  if  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  truly  revealed 
the  Father,  if  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,"  then  everything  is  quite  easy, 
for  "We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us."  But  this 
involves  the  truth  of  the  whole  Christian  faith,  the  ac- 
ceptance (ultimately)  of  the  articles  of  the  so-called 
Apostles'  Creed.  We  thus  get  dogmatic  theology. 
Theology  is  merely  the  attempt  to  express  scientifically 
the  facts  of  the  case.  When  we  remember  that  Christ 
is  quoting  from  the  law,  from  what  he  taught  that  God 
had  revealed  to  Moses,  the  whole  question  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  higher  critical  hypotheses  also  is  in- 
volved in  our  acceptation  of  what  to  Lincoln  seemed 
so  simple.  How  again  can  we  logically  avoid  asking 
ourselves  the  question  which  Christ  himself  propounded 
to  his  opponents,  "What  think  ye  of  the  Christ?  Whose 
son  is  he?" 

It  is  true  that  theology  must  be  sharply  differen- 
tiated from  Christian  faith.  Theology  is  only  the  the- 
oretic or  philosophic  statement  or  explanation  of  the 

[94] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

facts  on  which  our  faith  rests.  Theology  may  err,  like 
all  other  sciences,  and  may  require  revision  in  the  light 
of  new  facts,  or  old  ones  better  understood,  or  more 
fully  co-ordinated  with  one  another.  But  the  facts 
themselves  do  not  change,  for  truth  is  eternal. 

If  a  man  accepts  these  facts,  he  has  no  excuse  for  not 
joining  some  one  of  the  different  regiments  which  to- 
gether form  the  army  of  Christ.  If  he  denies  the  facts, 
then  he  can  hardly  expect  Christians  to  modify  the  "faith 
once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints"  in  order  to  secure 
his  approval  and  adherence.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
may  justly  doubt  whether  certain  of  the  theological  ex- 
planations of  the  facts  are  correct,  and  he  should  then 
examine  them  and  state  them  more  correctly  if  he  can. 
But  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  facts. 

The  simple,  uneducated  Christian  is  not  forced  to 
study  theology  at  all  deeply.  He  must,  however,  know 
and  believe  the  main  facts  upon  which  that  science — 
like  every  other  science — is  based,  otherwise  how  can  he 
be  a  Christian?  None  the  less  the  theologian  has  his 
place.  He  has  to  know  the  original  languages  in  which 
the  Holy  Scriptures  were  written,  otherwise  the  simple 
believer  could  not  hear  the  facts  stated  in  his  native 
tongue.  No  one  has  any  right,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
prevent  the  simple  believer  from  studying  theology,  if 
he  wishes  to  do  so.  Nor  can  its  doctrines  in  the  main 
be  repudiated  without  overthrowing  the  foundation  of 
the  simple  man's  faith  and  the  ground  for  his  obedience 
to  Christ's  precepts.  If  Christ  were  not  what  he  claimed 
to  be,  then  his  conmiands  would  have  no  authority  be- 
hind them.  If  he  did  not  "die  for  our  sins  and  rise 
again  for  our  justification,"  then  love  for  him  cannot 
rightly  exist,  and  the  engine  cannot  run  on  the  rails, 

C95] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

however  admirably  laid,  for  its  motive-power  is  gone, 
the  fire  is  out,  the  boiler  is  cold. 

As  there  cannot  be  more  than  one  true  science  of 
medicine,  of  dynamics,  of  astronomy,  of  chemistry,  so 
there  can  be  only  one  true  science  of  theology.  Our 
knowledge  of  not  one  of  these  sciences  is  perfect,  though 
in  each  case  the  facts  on  which  our  knowledge  (or 
"science")  is  based  are  unchangeable,  or  at  least  un- 
changing. Like  all  other  sciences,  theology  is  progres- 
sive, and  some  of  its  theories  are  still  imperfect.  But 
this  no  more  justifies  a  reasonable  man  in  rejecting  the 
teachings  of  theology  than  the  same  fact  justifies  him 
in  rejecting  the  laws  of  acoustics  or  optics.  In  each 
case  our  aim  should  be  to  become  better  acquainted  with 
the  basal  facts,  in  order  that  we  may  the  better  under- 
stand how  the  doctrines  founded  thereon  accord  with 
these  facts. 

The  faith  which  we  need  and  which  alone  can  satisfy 
is  that  which  is  founded  upon  no  mere  human  guesses 
at  truth,  but  on  the  "divine  word"  for  which  Plato 
longed,  and  for  want  of  which  he  wandered  in  the 
dimmest  twilight.  But  at  least  the  faces  of  such  men 
were  turned  toward  the  light,  toward  the  dawning  of 
the  Sun  of  righteousness.  Those  of  many  of  the  would- 
be  wise  men  of  the  present  day  are,  alas!  turned  away 
from  the  Light  of  the  world. 


1961 


WILLEM   VAN   DER   VLUGT,   D.U.J., 

LEYDEN,     HOLLAND 

Professor  of  the  philosophy  and  encyclopedia  of  juris- 
prudence at  Leyden  University  since  1880;  born  on  March 
12,  1853;  educated  at  Haarlem  and  at  Leyden  University; 
member  of  the  Second  Chamber  of  the  States-General, 
1902-6;  author  of  De  Rechtstaat  volgens  de  leer  van  Ru- 
dolf Gneist,  1879;  "The  Development  of  Dutch  Learning 
in  the  Latter  Half  of  the  Nineteenth  Century'*  in  Histor- 
isch  gedenkboek,  1898;  Transvaal  versus  Great  Britain, 
1899;  Finland,  de  rechtsvraag,  French  translation,  Les 
Vrais  coupables:  lettre  a  M.  Tallichet,  I9OO;  Un  Nouveau 
Conflet  russo-finlandais,  1909-10. 

Widespread  indiflFerence  to  church  life,  and  even  to 
matters  of  religion  is  now  a  fact  indeed.  The  chief 
cause  of  this  is  found  by  tracing  back  its  origin  to  an 
initial  mistake  of  theology  and  then  in  connection  with 
this,  to  a  misunderstanding  of  modern  science. 

For  centuries  theologians  were  wont  to  look  at  man's 
knowledge  of  nature,  organic  and  inorganic,  as  if  it  were 
the  stepping-stone  to  a  reasonable  faith  in  God.  The 
heavens  (it  was  believed)  proclaimed  his  glory  and  the 
earth  told  his  omnipotence.  That  method  seemed  un- 
exceptionable so  long  as  to  man's  naive  wonder  the  uni- 
verse presented  itself  as  an  immensely  skilful  piece  of 
workmanship.  To  praise  the  Master  on  account  of  his 
creation  was  (it  might  be  supposed)  a  legitimate  in- 
ference. But  since  science,  awakened  to  self-under- 
standing, proved  ever  more  successful  in  its  endeavor 
to  explain  natural  events  by  means  of  purely  natural 
laws,  the  inference  gradually  lost  ground.  "God's 
finger"  vanished  from  physical  theory.    Still,  for  a 

[97] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

while,  the  admirable  fitness  in  the  structure  and  behavior 
of  living  organisms  was  thought  to  provide  the  decay- 
ing faith  in  nature's  ends  and  means  with  a  last  buttress, 
where  it  might  hold  its  own  against  the  elsewhere  vic- 
torious opponent.  But  then  came  Darwin,  and  he 
leveled  against  that  buttress  his  well-known  master- 
stroke. Ere  long  it  was  preached  in  the  streets  that 
the  cause  of  those  who  had  presumed  to  demonstrate 
God's  existence  by  pointing  at  the  works  of  his  hands 
was  irretrievably  lost.  And  the  man  in  the  street  agreed 
with  such  an  assertion.  One  could  hardly  expect  him  to 
be  aware  of  the  truism  that  a  defeat  encountered  by  a 
false  theology  does  not  mean  the  defeat  of  religion. 

I  believe  that  theology  to  have  been  a  false  one.  It 
should  never  have  taken  the  scope  of  Christian  faith  to 
be  the  synthesis  of  a  set  of  existential  propositions  con- 
cerning the  visible  and  tangible  world.  What  matters 
chiefly  to  the  Christian  mind  is  not  how  yonder  out- 
ward "macrocosmos"  is  working,  but,  how  this  inward 
"microcosmos"  of  its  own  should  be  and  ought  to  work. 
The  atmosphere  in  which  it  feels  at  home  is  the  con- 
sciousness of  lofty  aims  and  helpless  sinning,  in  short, 
of  those  alternating  experiences  which  were  so  strikingly 
compared  by  Pascal  to  the  conflicting  remembrances 
and  hardships  of  a  dethroned  king.  You  may  (like 
Professor  Campbell  Frazer)  define  religious  faith  as  the 
assurance  that  this  universe  is  eternally  working  for 
good  to  those  who  strive  to  realize  the  true  ideal  of  man ; 
or  you  may  be  persuaded  by  William  James  that  our 
religion  implies  the  certitude  of  an  unseen  presence, 
forwarding  that  sort  of  happiness  in  the  absolute  and 
everlasting  which  means  an  enthusiastic  temper  of 
espousal  in  regions  where  morality,  strictly  so-called, 

[98] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

can  at  best  bow  its  head;  it  is  always  man's  being  sum- 
moned to  and  striving  after  holiness  which  you  pro- 
claim as  the  pivot  of  every  Christian  craving  or  ful- 
filment. 

When  we  understand  the  Christian  spirit  in  that 
way,  it  ought  to  be  clear  to  us  beforehand  that  here 
are  deeply  rooted  needs  which  modem  science  is  forever 
debarred  from  administering  to.  The  scientific  attitude 
is  essentially  that  which  takes  the  objects  of  its  research, 
one  and  all,  as  elements  in  a  naturally  connected  whole. 
And  nature  ceases  to  be  itself  the  moment  it  admits  any 
single  causal  process  to  be  of  higher  value  than  another. 
So  far  as  they  form  part  of  scientifically  explainable 
nature,  holiness  and  sin  are  equivalent  things,  standing 
on  the  same  plane.  This  self-evident  consideration  leads 
me  to  a  further  question,  which  I  find  put  in  your  letter, 
"Can  a  theology  be  unassailable  and  final  that  does  not 
accord  with  the  assured  results  of  science?"  The  an- 
swer to  be  given  to  this  is,  it  seems  to  me,  implied  in 
what  has  just  been  stated.  If  you  intend  to  get  at  a 
positive  accordance  between  the  gospel  which  you  feel 
bound  to  preach  and  the  results  of  science  which  you 
feel  bound  to  accept,  your  aim  is  foredoomed  to  failure. 
For  there  can  never  be  any  tenet  in  common  between  a 
turn  of  mind  which  gives  up,  proscribes  a  priori  the 
very  thought  of  valuation  and  a  world  of  experiences  to 
which  valuation,  praise,  and  doom  are  nothing  less  than 
its  life-atmosphere. 

The  message  of  Christ,  to  be  effective,  must  not 
"stand  for  and  teach"  the  things  that  are  stood  for  and 
taught  by  science.  The  utmost  to  be  realized  by  the 
pacifists,  protesting  against  warfare  between  the  scien- 
tist and  the  Christian,  is  mutual  acknowledgment  of 

L991 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  other  party's  right  within  its  own  sphere.  But  then 
tho  pleadings  for  such  a  modus  Vivendi  seem  to  me  per- 
fectly justified.  In  order  that  it  may  be  attained  and 
secured,  there  needs  be  made  but  a  single  concession  on 
each  side.  Faith,  on  its  part,  must  abstain  from  med- 
dling with  that  descriptive  and  explanatory  work  in  the 
performance  of  which  science  has  long  since  proved  its 
superior.  The  man  of  science,  on  the  other  hand,  ought 
to  desist  from  that  overestimation  of  his  task  which  ends 
in  the  denial  of  objective  truth  to  any  proposition  short 
of  his  axioms  and  his  results.  If  there  is  truth  to  be 
attained  in  the  realm  of  description  and  causal  explana- 
tion, the  same  thing  cannot  but  hold  in  the  norma- 
tive sphere,  the  realm  of  approval  and  rejection. 
The  irrefragable  argument  in  favor  of  that  point 
is  this,  that  to  the  normative  sphere  belong  those 
principles  of  logic  on  whose  objective  validity  the  truth 
of  science  itself  finally  depends.  So,  though  there  be 
no  possibility  of  mutual  understanding,  as  long  as  you 
consider  the  fundamental  differences  in  the  spirit  by 
which,  on  either  side,  all  thinking  is  directed,  the  tables 
are  immediately  turned  the  instant  you  take  in  view 
the  unquestionable  parallelism  of  the  ultimate  pre- 
suppositions from  which  both  parties  start. 

These  are,  in  a  nutshell,  the  reasons  which  (I 
think)  justify  the  hope  that  the  indifference  to  things 
not  tangible,  so  common  for  some  time  in  the  rising 
generation,  will  soon  prove  to  have  been  a  passing  cloud. 
As  for  my  own  country,  I  even  feel  sure  that  the  moment 
of  deepest  darkness  has  already  passed.  It  would  be  an 
event  to  be  hailed  if,  wherever  the  same  crisis  ends  in 
an  equally  hopeful  turn,  the  churches  and  the  sects 
might  seize  the  opportunity  and  bring  back  to  the  fold 

[  100  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND"  ^fi^^AGliJ 

those  young  men  and  women  who  had  for  a  whUe  gone 
astray  from  the  flock.  Only  (and  here  I  approach  the 
principal  question  laid  before  me)  let  clergymen  and 
Christian  laymen,  whenever  that  moment  arrives,  be- 
ware of  rashness  and  hurry;  beware  of  that  inconsider- 
ate propagandism  which,  in  its  impatience  to  gather  a 
host  of  converts,  not  only  throws  the  church  or  chapel 
doors  wide  open,  but  even  breaks  down  these  beautiful 
Gothic  buildings,  that  seem  to  them  perhaps  somewhat 
too  narrow,  and  venture  to  replace  them  by  some  un- 
couth barn ;  in  short,  let  them  beware  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln's receipt. 

"Non  omnia  possumus  omnes/^  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  a  successful  statesman.  But  his  advocacy  of  what 
I  might  call  "universal  philanthropy  tinged  with  emo- 
tion" as  the  desirable  motto  for  a  church  affords  ample 
proof  that  he  would  have  made  a  poor  churchman.  The 
capital  fault  in  his  advice,  truly  the  common  blunder  of 
well-intentioned  broad-church  people  in  quest  of  the 
most  capacious  "formula  concordise,"  is  that  it  proceeds 
by  elimination.  It  keeps  in  view  only  those  fellow- 
Christians,  who,  like  himself,  in  reading  through  any 
"symbolum  fidei,"  are  shocked  now  by  this  positive 
article  and  then  by  that;  and  so  he  endeavors  to  gain 
them  all  by  wiping  those  controversial  assertions  out. 
What  he  fails  to  perceive  is  the  multitude  of  differently 
formed  minds,  in  whose  eyes  the  erasure  of  the  said 
articles,  instead  of  enhancing  the  value  of  the  whole, 
rather  disembowels  it  of  its  most  precious  contents. 
And  thus  he  is  unaware  of  the  fact  that,  while  his 
method  may  succeed  perhaps  in  winning  to  his  flock 
the  sympathies  of  liberal  brethren,  whose  piety  acqui- 
esces in  an  inevitable  amount  of  vagueness,  it  vainly 

[101] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

strives,  on  the  other  hand,  to  retain  the  men  of  positive 
Tvants,  who  deem  a  creed  as  nothing  if  not  concrete.  For 
every  thousand  of  congenial  souls,  who  meet  him  by  the 
>vay  and  join  his  van,  he  loses  at  least  an  equal  number 
of  other-minded  comrades,  who  after  some  straggling 
drop  out  from  the  rear  ranks,  till  at  last,  on  turning  to 
review  the  uncounted  masses  of  what  he  hopes  may  have 
expanded  into  a  universal  church,  he  perceives  with  bit- 
terness that  he  has  but  succeeded  in  shaping  a  new  sect 
besides  the  existing  ones. 

We  should  humbly  subscribe  to  the  wisdom  of  so 
early  a  Christian  thinker  as  Origen,  who  taught  his 
contemporaries  that  to  different  spiritual  needs  there 
cannot  but  correspond  equally  different  conceptions  of 
religious  bliss.  And  we  are  bound  to  do  so  the  more 
since  the  contents  of  the  gospels  are  of  a  literally  tran- 
scending richness.  So  much  so  that,  even  for  the  pro- 
foundest  thought  and  the  deepest  feeling,  they  still  ad- 
mit of  but  a  fragmentary  appropriation.  The  true 
mark  of  genius  is  many-sidedness.  It  is  among  his- 
torians, who  deal  with  the  life  and  deeds  of  mankind's 
heroes,  a  common  experience  that  they  never  approach 
afresh  a  great  character — say  Socrates,  or  Saint  Francis, 
or  Luther — without  discovering  on  the  brilliant  sur- 
face of  his  active  personality  to-day  this  facet  and  to- 
morrow that  other  one,  which  so  far  had  escaped  their 
attention.  What,  then,  of  the  central  figure  in  evan- 
gelical tradition!  No  mortal  man,  no  church,  dares 
boast  to  have  exhausted  the  treasures  which  that  tradi- 
tion keeps  in  store  for  ages  still  to  come.  Here,  not 
only  all  that  are  tired  and  burdened  find  rest,  but  even 
those  numerous  "once  born  children  of  God,"  who  (to 
quote  Francis  W.  Newman)  constantly  refuse  to  see 

[  102  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

their  heavenly  Father  otherwise  than  as  "the  animating 
spirit  of  a  beautiful  harmonious  world."  These,  too, 
may  easily  gather  quite  a  collection  of  metaphorically 
interpretable  texts,  wherewith  to  adorn  their  Christian- 
ity as  the  hopeful  religion  of  indefinite  progress.  Yet, 
even  more  among  those  whom  a  painful  insight  into  the 
tragicality,  yea  the  ultimate  nothingness,  of  merely 
earthen  existence  compels  to  interpret  the  Lord's  utter- 
ances and  achievements  as  promising  redemption,  not 
perfection,  how  manifold  are  the  types  of  piety,  of 
whom  no  one  ever  approaches  in  vain  that  inexhaustible 
fountain.  You  belong  (I  suppose  for  a  moment)  to  the 
broad  masses  of  Christians,  to  whom  the  stanch  reality 
of  salvation  speaks  clearest  if  they  are  allowed  to  ac- 
cept it  as  an  accomplished  fact.  If  so,  you  will  almost 
inevitably  read  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  with 
the  eyes  of  a  St.  Augustine;  you  will  try  above  all  to 
find  vindicated  there  the  holy  right  of  a  church,  claim- 
ing to  have  been  invested  by  God  himself  with  the 
guardianship  and  the  dispensation,  either  by  its  sacra- 
ments or  by  its  teaching,  of  his  unlimited  grace.  And 
lo!  you  will  meet  in  abundance  with  the  proofs  you 
seek.  Or  perhaps  you  may  not  find  an  escape  from  the 
pangs  of  compunction  unless  you  feel  sure  that  God's 
mercy  has  acquired  so  much  strength  within  you  as  to 
be  now  the  all  determining  power  in  your  life's  practise. 
Is  this  your  frame  of  mind?  Well,  then,  you  will  search 
out  in  the  Scriptures  and  find  there  on  page  after  page 
such  sentences  as  have  proved  in  the  main  to  sect 
builders  the  signal  posts  of  their  career.  Or,  lastly, 
some  mystical  trend  in  your  being  may  make  you  indif- 
ferent to  any  kind  of  associational  Christendom;  your 
soul  but  longs  to  become  immersed  in  the  beatitude  of 

[  103  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

undistinguishable  oneness  with  its  Creator.  Can  it  be 
denied  that  again  the  classical  expounders  of  that  spirit 
have  vied  with  churchmen  and  sectarians  in  digging 
after  and  unearthing  from  the  Sacred  Book  a  mine  of 
precious  passages,  favoring  their  particular  sigh- 
ings  and  encouraging  their  characteristic  hopes?  So 
true  is  it  that  every  shade  of  Christian  life  meets  some- 
where in  the  Bible  with  its  echo.  And  may  we  not  even 
go  a  step  farther  still?  Imagine  one  of  us  to  be  either 
a  devout  son  of  his  church,  or  an  ardent  believer  in  the 
distinctive  proprieties  of  his  sect,  or  perhaps  a  fervent 
follower  in  the  steps  of  the  great  mystics.  May  yet  not 
even  he  be  struck  at  times  by  the  fact  that  some  variety 
of  Christian  devotion,  which,  as  a  whole,  is  far  aloof 
from  his,  nevertheless  seems  to  have  seized  upon  a  cer- 
tain side  of  truth  in  a  more  direct,  more  telling  way 
than  he  himself  and  his  brethren  in  belief?  Christians 
at  least  of  the  more  liberal  type  will  not  shrink  from 
such  avowals.  They  will  candidly  recall  how  now  and 
then  a  visit  to  a  grand  cathedral  has  stamped  upon 
their  soul  a  deep  impression  of  the  superior  suggestive- 
ness  wherewith  a  church,  measuring  its  life  by  centuries, 
appeals  to  men's  esthetic  faculties;  their  awe  in  the 
presence  of  tradition,  their  respect  for  world-wide  ex- 
pansion, their  sensibility  to  that  joy  forever  which  hails 
all  things  of  beauty.  Or  else  with  equal  sincerity  they 
may  testify  to  an  involuntary  reverence,  not  quite  un- 
mingled  with  a  drop  of  jealousy,  which  once  pervaded 
them  at  momentary  contact  with  a  group  of  sectarians. 
It  may  have  been  that  those  people  were  of  a  somewhat 
Pharisaic  sort;  and  yet  they  may  have  displayed  after 
all,  thanks  even  to  the  plain  concreteness  of  their  tenets 
and  their  austerity  in  point  of  morals,  such  calm  re- 

[  104  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

liance  on  the  righteousness  of  their  course  as  infallibly 
to  command  a  certain  amount  of  esteem,  however  re- 
luctant. I  think  these  not  uncommon  experiences  af- 
ford abundant  proof  in  favor  of  the  conclusion  which 
was  suggested  above.  Truly,  Christian  faith  is  a 
thing  so  many-sided  that  it  may  well  require  henceforth, 
for  its  even  approachingly  adequate  expression,  a  sim- 
ilar variety  of  churches  and  chapels  and  hermitages  as 
have  hardly  sufficed  to  encompass  its  richness  hereto- 
fore. And  if  you  really  want  our  youth  to  long  for 
the  spiritual  comfortings  and  blessings  of  old,  you  must 
not  expect  to  get  your  ideal  fulfilled  by  ways  of  simpli- 
fication and  uniformity.  Let  the  existing  manifoldness 
subsist.  Once  aroused  from  their  slumber,  the  needs 
of  younger  men  will  prove  as  diverse  as  those  of  their 
seniors.  What  will  not  do  for  one  may  well  do  for 
another.  And  he  who  does  not  feel  comforted  in  this 
tabernacle  may  find  what  suits  him  in  yonder  house  of 
prayer  and  meeting. 

Before  laying  down  my  pen,  I  wish  to  secure  these 
concluding  sentences  from  one,  at  first  sight  plausible, 
objection.  Is  it  not  (one  might  ask)  to  be  feared  that 
the  continuance  of  existing  divisions,  while  it  never 
ceases  to  foster  the  ill-famed  "odium  theologicum,"  will 
deter  the  age  of  generous  aspirations  from  adhering  to 
any  form  of  creed?  Where  is  the  attractiveness  of  sym- 
bols the  partizans  of  which  are  again  and  again  dis- 
avowing their  so-called  evangelical  maxims  by  most 
unevangelical  mutual  proceedings?  To  apprehensions 
of  that  sort,  the  answer  should  be  plainly  this :  It  is  not 
existing  divisions  which  breed  the  bitterest  strife,  the 
sourest  polemics.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  forever  de- 
ceitful illusion  of  an  outward,  all  encompassing  unity. 

[105] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Look  at  the  ages  of  crudest  intolerance.  Even  then  the 
infidel,  he  who  had  never  dwelt  within  the  pales  of 
.Christianity  and  so  could  not  have  broken  away  from 
them,  was  an  object  at  most  of  scornful  disdain. 
Over  whom,  on  the  other  hand,  were  the  vials  of 
truly  fierce  theological  wrath  constantly  being  poured 
out?  It  was  the  provokers  of  schisms,  the  professors 
of  heresies,  in  short,  those  fellow-Christians,  who,  after 
having  been  baptized  into  that  unrealizable  phantom  in- 
stitute, the  "imiversal  Church,"  had  dared  to  put  to 
naught  its  ever  vain  pretenses.  So  undeniable  it  is,  that 
the  foulest  enmities  are  bred,  not  by  accepted  multi- 
formity, but  rather  by  conformity  fruitlessly  striven 
after.  Moreover,  and  above  all,  I  am  steadily  growing 
confirmed  in  the  persuasion  that  theological  ardor,  so 
far  from  being  the  normal  companion  of  religious  faith, 
is  in  most  cases  but  its  surrogate,  not  to  say  its  carica- 
ture. Thence,  instead  of  presenting  itself  as  a  trust- 
worthy thermometer  of  evangelical  warmth,  its  own  de- 
gree of  heat  or  cold  often  stands  in  an  inverse  ratio 
to  the  real  temperature  of  the  heart.  The  truly  Chris- 
tian spirit  is,  in  the  main,  too  much  absorbed  by  thoughts 
and  things  positive  to  feel  tempted  often  to  indulge  in 
such  a  merely  negative  business  as  making  war  against 
heterodoxy.  It  feels,  moreover,  too  deeply  the  pangs 
of  its  own  unceasing  shortcomings  eagerly  to  assume 
any  judiciary  prerogative  over  its  neighbors.  The  more, 
therefore,  you  favor  the  awakening  of  that  spirit  by 
abstaining  from  a  hopeless  search  after  formulas  of  uni- 
versal concord  and  allowing  its  free  scope  to  every  par- 
ticular shade  of  religious  needs  and  hopes,  the  firmer 
may  be  your  reliance  on  the  gradual  quenching  of  those 
fratricidal  quarrels. 

[106] 


THE   REV.   DAVID   VAN-HORNE, 
D.D.,  LL.D., 

DAYTON^   OHIO 

President  and  professor  of  systematic  theology  at  Central 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Church,  Dayton, 
Ohio,  since  1888;  born  at  Glen,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  11,  1837;  edu- 
cated at  Union  College  and  New  Brunswick  (N.  J.)  Theo- 
logical Seminary;  ordained  to  the  Reformed  (Dutch) 
Church  ministry,  1867;  pastor  at  Greenwich,  N.  Y.,  1867- 
68;  at  Dayton,  O.,  1868-75;  First  Reformed  Church, 
Philadelphia,  1875-88;  author  of  Shorter  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism; Zwingle,  the  Mountain  Boy  of  Wildhaus;  Tent  and 
Saddle  Life  in  the  Holy  Land;  Religion  and  Revelation; 
The  Church  and  the  Future  Life, 

A  TEST  FOR  CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

There  are  many  persons  in  agreement  with  President 
Lincoln's  statement  that  he  preferred  a  brief  formula 
as  a  test  for  admission  to  church  membership  rather 
than  one  lengthy  and  complicated.  He  cited  the  fact 
that  a  long,  complicated  statement  of  Christian  doctrine 
was  to  him  a  hindrance  in  taking  this  step,  which,  he  im- 
plied, he  was  ready  to  take  if  an  abridged  test  had  been 
presented  to  him.  That  he  had  strong  religious  con- 
victions cannot  be  doubted.  His  request  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen,  when  departing  from  Springfield,  111.,  for 
Washington,  in  1861,  that  they  should  pray  for  him, 
proves  it.  The  dreadful  days  and  nights  at  the  White 
House,  during  the  civil  war,  when  he  was  bitterly  hated 
by  those  of  the  Confederacy  and,  at  the  same  time, 
cruelly  criticized  by  many  in  the  North,  led  him  to  say 
that  he  was  less  anxious  to  know  if  the  Lord  was  on  our 
side,  than  he  was  to  know  if  we  were  on  the  Lord's  side. 

[107] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

He  was  the  man  who  could  truly  say,  "It  is  better  to 
be  right  than  to  be  president." 

In  the  statement  of  his  conviction  that  those  seeking 
entrance  to  the  church  communion  should  be  cited  to 
Matt.  22 :  37,  which  passage  requires  a  profession  of 
love  to  God  and  to  men,  he  has  undoubtedly  taken  a 
wise  and  fundamental  position.  But  in  order  to  adapt 
this  text  to  the  native  Chinaman,  Hindu,  or  African, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  explain  what  is  meant  by  the 
phrase,  "Lord  thy  God,"  for  there  are  "gods  many  and 
lords  many,"  and  the  inquirer  needs  help  at  this  point. 
In  answer  to  this  the  Christian  missionary  could 
scarcely  do  better  than  quote  the  first  article  of  the 
Apostles'  Creed:  "the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth." 

Again  President  Lincoln  here  commends  "the 
Saviour's"  condensed  statement  of  both  law  and  gospel, 
found  in  Matt.  22 :  37.  But  the  inquirer  might  reason- 
ably ask  for  an  explanation  of  the  word  used  by  him, 
"Saviour,"  and  in  what  sense  it  is  to  be  understood. 
Then  the  second  article  of  the  creed  would  be  in  place : 
"I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten  Son,  our 
Lord."  Following  this  the  history  of  Christ's  life  would 
be  needed,  as  found  in  the  following  articles  of  the  same 
symbol,  including  the  doctrines  found  there,  even  to  the 
statement  concerning,  "the  life  everlasting." 

The  fact  that  the  President  selected  a  text  found 
in  the  synoptic  gospels,  as  spoken  by  Christ,  which  is  a 
compoimd  of  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  at  Deut. 
6:  5  and  Lev.  19:  18,  further  indicates  his  acceptance 
of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures  as 
authoritative  in  even  a  brief  test  for  church  membership. 
Were  it  possible  for  President  Lincoln  to  return  to 

[108] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

earth  and  knock  at  the  door  of  any  of  our  evangelical 
churches  for  admission,  stating  meanwhile  his  belief  in 
the  Scriptures  and  the  Apostles'  Creed,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  any  of  them  would  refuse  him.  Is  not  this, 
then,  the  best  short  test  for  admission  to  church  mem- 
bership, belief  in  the  Bible  and  the  Apostles'  Creed  as 
a  suitable  statement  of  its  fundamental  teachings? 


[109] 


BENJAMIN   BRECKINRIDGE   WARFIELD, 
D.D.,    LL.D.,   Litt.D., 

PRINCETON^   N.   J. 

Professor  of  didactic  and  polemical  theology  at  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  since  1887;  born  at  Lexington,  Kj., 
Nov.  5,  1851;  educated  at  Princeton  University,  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary,  and  the  University  of  Leipsic; 
ordained  to  the  Presbyterian  ministry,  1879;  instructor  in 
New  Testament  language  and  literature,  1878-79,  and 
professor,  1879-87,  Western  Theological  Seminary;  editor 
of  the  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review,  1890-1902; 
author  of  Divine  Origin  of  the  Bible;  Inspiration;  Intro- 
duction to  the  Textual  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament; 
Augustine's  Anti-Pelagian  Treatises;  The  Idea  of  Sys- 
tematic Theology;  On  the  Revision  of  the  Confession  of 
Faith;  The  Gospel  of  the  Incarnation;  Two  Studies  in  the 
History  of  Doctrine;  The  Right  of  Systematic  Theology; 
The  Significance  of  the  Westminster  Standards;  Acts  and 
Pastoral  Epistles;  The  Power  of  God  unto  Salvation; 
The  Lord  of  Glory;  Calvin  as  a  Theologian  and  Calvinism 
To-day;  How  Shall  We  Baptize f 

CHRISTIANITY   AND   OUR   TIMES 

When  we  are  asked  why  it  is  that  there  are  so  many 
persons  who  are  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  Church, 
no  doubt  the  safest  answer  to  give  is  that  it  is  for  rea- 
sons best  known  to  themselves.  It  seems,  however,  only 
a  voluntary  humility  to  profess  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
fundamental  basis  of  this  indifference;  an  indifference, 
let  it  be  well  borne  in  mind,  which  is  in  no  sense  "mod- 
ern," but  has  characterized  ever  greater  numbers  as  we 
go  back  in  the  history  of  the  Church  to  the  very  begin- 
ning. It  lies  in  a  weak  sense  of  sin  and  the  natural  un- 
concern of  men  who  do  not  feel  themselves  sinners  with 
respect  to  salvation  from  sin.     For  Christianity  ad- 

[110] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

dresses  itself  only  to  sinners.  Its  Founder  himself  de- 
clared that  he  did  not  come  to  call  the  righteous  but 
sinners ;  and  its  chief  expounder  declared  with  energetic 
emphasis  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners.  When  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  announces,  in  words 
the  truth  of  which  is  sufficiently  avouched  by  the  chorus 
of  approval  with  which  they  have  been  greeted  by  those 
presumedly  spoken  of,  that  "as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
higher  man  of  to-day  is  not  worrying  about  his  sins  at 
all,  still  less  about  their  punishment,"  he  has  uncovered 
the  whole  explanation  of  the  current  indifference  to 
Christianity.  He  might  have  extended  his  remark,  in- 
deed, to  cover  the  lower  as  well  as  the  higher  man,  of 
other  days  as  well  as  this:  there  have  always  been  men 
in  sufficient  abundance,  both  higher  and  lower,  who 
have  not  bothered  themselves  about  their  sins.  The 
open  secret  of  the  indifference  of  men  of  all  classes  in 
all  ages  to  Christianity,  so  far  as  that  indifference  has 
existed,  lies  in  the  indifference  of  men  to  sin,  and  their 
consequent  indifference  to  salvation  from  sin.  Chris- 
tianity makes  no  appeal  to  men  who  do  not  feel  the 
burden  of  sin. 

And  here  we  have  already  exposed  the  reason  why 
no  Christian  Church  can  take  up  the  position  recom- 
mended to  it  on  the  strength  of  a  declaration  attributed 
to  Abraham  Lincoln.  This  declaration  is  to  the  effect 
that  a  simple  requirement  of  love  to  God  and  our  neigh- 
bor constitutes  a  sufficient  foundation  for  a  church,  and 
the  churches  would  profit  by  making  the  profession  of 
such  love,  or  of  the  wish  or  purpose  to  cherish  such  love, 
their  sole  qualification  for  membership.  The  moment 
a  church  took  up  such  a  position,  however,  it  would  cease 
to  be  a  Christian  Church:  the  core  of  Christianity  is 

[111] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

its  provision  for  salvation  from  sin.  No  doubt  by  the 
adoption  of  such  a  platform  many  would  be  recovered 
to  the  Church  who  now  stand  aloof  from  it.  But  this 
would  be  not  because  the  world  had  been  brought  into 
the  Church,  but  because  the  Church  had  been  merged 
into  the  world.  The  offense  of  Christianity  has  always 
been  the  cross ;  as  of  old,  so  still  to-day,  Christ  crucified 
is  to  Jews  a  stumbling-block  and  to  Greeks  foolish- 
ness. It  would  be  easy  to  remove  the  offense  by  abolish- 
ing the  cross.  But  that  would  be  to  abolish  Christian- 
ity. Christianity  is  the  cross;  and  he  who  makes  the 
cross  of  Christ  of  none  effect  eviscerates  Christianity. 
What  Christianity  brings  to  the  world  is  not  the  bare 
command  to  love  God  and  our  neighbor.  The  world 
needs  no  such  command ;  nature  itself  teaches  the  duty. 
What  the  world  needs  is  the  power  to  perform  this  duty, 
with  respect  to  which  it  is  impotent.  And  this  power 
Christianity  brings  it  in  the  redemption  of  the  Son  of 
God  and  the  renewal  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Christianity 
is  not  merely  a  program  of  conduct:  it  is  the  power  of 
a  new  life. 

It  is  a  matter  of  complete  indifference  how  much  de- 
bated the  constitutive  doctrines  of  Christianity  are,  or 
how  "controversial"  they  may  be.  Everything  impor- 
tant is  debated,  and  everything  that  is  precious  will 
certainly  be  dragged  into  controversy.  If  we  are  to  hold 
to  nothing  that  is  questioned,  we  shall  hold  to  nothing 
at  all:  we  shall  be  as  the  beasts  which  are  beyond  good 
and  evil.  The  very  "brief  statement"  which  is  pro- 
posed as  a  sufficient  creed  bristles  with  questions  which 
are  sharply  debated  and  are  in  the  highest  degree  con- 
troversial. If  any  one  thinks  it  does  not,  let  him  ask 
Friedrich  Nietzsche,  or  if  that  seems  going  too  far 

[112] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

afield,  even  J.  M.  E.  McTaggart;  or  let  him  ask  merely 
the  man  in  the  street  whom  he  may  haply  find  in  some 
doubt  whether  it  is  better  to  do  righteousness  or  to  "do" 
his  neighbor.  What  is  important  with  respect  to  the 
doctrines  which  we  lay  at  the  basis  of  our  church  life 
and  make  the  animating  principles  of  our  church  organi- 
zations, is  not  that  they  shall  be  incapable  of  being  de- 
bated and  cannot  raise  "controversial"  questions,  but 
that  they  are  sound,  "wholesome,"  for  the  soul's  health, 
the  indispensable  foundations  for  a  life  of  service  here 
to  the  Gk)d  whose  very  name  is  holy  and  of  communion 
with  him  and  of  rejoicing  in  him  forever.  Of  course, 
they  must  be  true.  But  that  does  not  mean  that  they 
must  be  nothing  but  rational  axioms  which  are  intrin- 
sically incapable  of  being  denied,  or  ethical  common- 
places to  which  all  moral  beings  must  assent,  however 
far  they  may  be  from  obeying  them.  They  may — or, 
rather,  they  must — embody  the  great  historical  occur- 
rences in  which  the  God  of  grace  has  intervened  in  the 
life  of  sinful  men  for  the  purpose  of  redeeming  men 
from  their  sins  and  restoring  in  their  dead  hearts  the 
love  of  God  and  of  their  neighbor. 

Since  these  great  historical  verities  are  constitutive 
of  Christianity,  wherever  they  are  rejected  or  neglected 
Christianity  has  ceased  to  exist.  This  used  to  be  well 
understood  and  candidly  acknowledged.  When  a  David 
Friedrich  Strauss,  for  example,  had  drifted  away  from 
these  great  historical  verities  and  sought  the  support 
of  his  religious  life  elsewhere,  he  asked  himself  straight- 
forwardly, "Are  we  still  Christians,"  and  frankly  an- 
swered, "No."  Nowadays  this  seems  to  be  all  changed. 
Men  cheerfully  abandon  the  whole  substance  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  will  hardly  be  persuaded  to  surrender  the 

[118] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

name.  Thus,  Rudolf  Eucken  asks,  "Can  we  still  be 
Christians?"  and  answers  with  emphasis.  Of  course 
we  can;  .  .  .  providing  only  that  by  Christianity  we 
do  not  mean — Christianity.  Thus  also  Ernst  Troeltsch 
declares  himself  still  a  Christian  (a  "free  Christian"), 
though  his  "Christianity"  has  been  so  "refashioned"  that 
it  has  become  nothing  more  than  an  "immanent  theism," 
the  quintessential  extract  of  the  religious  development 
of  mankind,  still  holding  to  the  name  of  Jesus  only  be- 
cause it  needs  a  rallying  point  for  its  worship  and  a 
name  to  conjure  with.  It  is  no  doubt  a  tribute  to  the 
significance  of  Christianity  in  the  world  that  men  who 
are  quite  out  of  harmony  with  it  should  manifest  such 
reluctance  to  surrender  the  name.  But  it  certainly  is 
very  misleading  to  insist  on  calling  by  this  name,  which 
should  have  a  definite  content,  the  various  congeries  of 
notions  each  several  man  has  picked  up  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  stream  of  modern  thought  as  it  flows  by  him 
and  wishes  to  substitute  for  the  thing  itself  to  which 
the  name  really  belongs  as  the  substance  of  his  religion. 
If  the  term  "Christianity"  is  to  be  as  fluid  as  this, 
it  has  become  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  words  an  empty 
name.  It  no  longer  has  any  content  of  its  own.  It  has 
become  a  purely  formal  designation  for  whatever  may 
chance,  in  any  age  or  company,  to  be  thought  the  sum 
of  the  conclusions  commended  by  the  science,  philos- 
ophy, or  scholarship  of  the  day.  This  is  what  it  really 
comes  to  when  it  is  demanded,  as  it  so  frequently  is, 
that  theology  shall  be  kept  in  harmony  with  what  are 
for  the  moment  called  "the  assured  results"  of  science, 
philosophy,  and  scholarship.  The  thing  is,  of  course, 
impossible.  Science,  philosophy,  scholarship,  represent 
not  stable  but  constantly  changing  entities.    And  noth- 

[114] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  theology  which  is  in 
close  harmony  with  the  science,  philosophy,  and  scholar- 
ship of  to-day  will  be  much  out  of  harmony  with  the 
science,  philosophy,  and  scholarship  of  to-morrow.  A 
theology  which  is  to  be  kept  in  harmony  with  a  growing 
science  and  philosophy  and  scholarship,  breaking  their 
way  onward  by  a  process  of  trial  and  correction,  must 
be  a  veritable  nose  of  wax  which  can  be  twisted  in  any 
direction  as  it  may  serve  our  temporary  purpose.  If  it 
be  asked,  therefore,  in  what  way  "the  fundamental  the- 
ology of  the  Church"  "is  to  be  related  to  the  literary, 
scientific,  and  philosophical  certainties  of  our  time,"  the 
answer  certainly  cannot  be  that  it  is  to  be  subordinated 
to  them  and  made  their  slave,  tremblingly  following 
their  every  variation  as  they  zigzag  their  devious  way 
onward  toward  the  certainties,  not  "of  our  time," 
but  of  all  time.  Theology  is  itself  a  science,  with  its 
own  proper  object,  method  and  content:  it  has  its  own 
certainties  to  contribute  to  the  sum  of  ascertained  truth ; 
and  it  dare  not  do  other  than  place  these  certainties, 
established  by  their  own  appropriate  evidence,  by  the 
side  of  any  other  certainties  which  may  exist,  as  equally 
entitled  with  the  best  attested  of  them  all  to  the  accept- 
ance of  men.  And  if  seeming  inconsistencies  appear, 
then  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  patiently  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  better  day  when  trial  and  correction 
have  done  their  perfect  work  and  the  unity  of  all  truth 
shall  be  vindicated  by  its  realized  harmony. 

By  "the  fundamental  theology  of  the  Church"  is 
meant  especially  the  Church's  confession  of  that  series 
of  the  redemptive  acts  of  God,  by  which  he  has  super- 
naturally  intervened  in  human  history  for  the  salvation 
of  sinful  man,  as  interpreted  and  given  their  full  mean- 

[115] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  in  the  revelation  which  he  has  made  to  his  people  in 
time  past  at  smidry  times  and  in  divers  manners 
through  his  servants  the  prophets,  and  in  these  last  times 
in  his  Son  speaking  through  the  apostles  whom  he  ap- 
pointed as  his  representatives  in  founding  his  Church. 
This  is  not  a  mass  of  cunningly  devised  fables,  but  the 
substance  of  saving  truth.  And  no  message  can  be  ef- 
fective for  the  salvation  of  a  lost  world  which  does  not 
stand  for  and  teach  in  the  face  of  all  hesitation  and 
unbelief,  denial  and  opposition,  those  things  which  con- 
stitute the  sum-total  of  this  saving  truth,  as  it  has  been 
set  down  for  us  in  Holy  Scripture.  The  message  of 
Christianity  concerns,  not  "the  values  of  human  life," 
but  the  grace  of  the  saving  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  And 
in  proportion  as  the  grace  of  the  saving  God  in  Christ 
Jesus  is  obscured  or  passes  into  the  background,  in 
that  proportion  does  Christianity  slip  from  our  grasp. 
Christianity  is  summed  up  in  the  phrase:  "God  was  in 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  with  himself."  Where 
this  great  confession  is  contradicted  or  neglected,  there 
is  no  Christianity. 


[1161 


THE   REV.   FREDERICK  WILLIAM 
WORSLEY,  M.A., 

CAMBRIDGE^   ENGLAND 

Curate  of  St.  Giles,  Cambridge;  born  at  Singapore,  Straits 
Settlements,  June  26,  1873 ;  educated  at  University  College, 
Durham,  and  Clare  College,  Cambridge;  ordained  deacon, 
1897,  and  priest,  1898;  curate  of  Barnes,  1897-1901;  St. 
Stephen,  S.  Kensington,  1901-05;  vicar  of  Corringham, 
Lincolnshire,  1905-07;  author  of  The  Gospel  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church;  The  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  Synoptists ;  The 
Theology  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  question  raised  by  the  religious  views  of  Abraham 
Lincohi  is  a  very  timely  one.  We  constantly  hear  peo- 
ple speak  of  "our  common  Christianity" ;  and  each  time 
one  wonders  whether  there  is  any  meaning  in  the  phrase. 
In  these  days  we  are  face  to  face  with  an  extreme  de- 
velopment of  Protestant  thought  in  certain  German  cir- 
cles. It  is  a  phenomenon  which  cannot  be  ignored;  in- 
deed, it  is  an  important  factor  in  the  situation.  There 
are  those  who  will  tell  us  that  herein  we  see  the  logical 
development  of  Protestantism.  At  any  rate  it  has  been 
made  quite  clear  that  the  Jesus  Christ  of  the  Catholic 
cycle  of  thought  is  not  the  same  as  the  Jesus  Christ  of 
modern  Protestant  theology.  In  consequence  the  two 
systems  are  as  far  apart  as  the  poles.  The  extreme 
Protestantism  of  which  we  have  spoken  will  probably 
accept  as  a  basis  of  agreement  the  deistic  basis,  "Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord,  thy  God,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self." But  many  Protestants  will  still  stand  out  for  the 
Apostles'  Creed  as  the  irreducible  minimum;  while  the 
minimum  of  the  Catholic  will  undoubtedly  be  afforded 

[117] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

by  the  three  Christian  symbols,  known  as  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  the  Creed  of  St.  Athana- 
sius.  Here  is  your  deadlock;  and  even  if  ultimately  all 
Protestants  find  themselves  able  to  combine  upon  a  de- 
istic  basis — which  is  for  many  of  them  unthinkable — 
they  will  only  be  the  more  patently  separated  from  the 
(Catholic  faith. 

Nor  can  it  be  maintained  that  it  is  really  desirable 
to  attempt  to  procure  a  superficial  union  of  religious 
thinkers  upon  so  frail  a  foundation.  The  bedrock  upon 
which  the  Church  is  founded  is  the  belief  in  the  divinity 
of  Jesus.  Those  who  are  willing  to  attempt  to  build  a 
new  structure  upon  a  foundation  of  shifting  sand,  would 
be  ill-advised  indeed.  Development  is  a  needed  article 
in  the  Christian  creed,  as  the  fourth  evangelist  clearly 
saw;  but  it  must  be  a  development  which  is  safeguarded 
by  certain  unalterable  principles.  History  has  often 
shown  the  futility  of  a  one-sided  development  of  re- 
ligious belief;  at  one  time  intellect,  true  knowledge, 
gnosis,  at  another,  emotion,  has  been  the  determining 
factor;  now  head,  now  heart,  has  decided  the  terms.  The 
true  principle  is  that  the  Church  is  like  the  wise  scribe 
instructed  in  the  kingdom  of  God;  she  brings  forth  out 
of  her  treasures  things  new  and  old.  The  old  are  the 
guiding  principles,  the  central  tenets  of  the  faith.  The 
new  are  the  fresher  aspects,  the  newer  activities  which 
are  necessitated  by  the  changing  circumstances  re- 
sultant upon  invention  and  discovery.  But  they  do  not, 
cannot  alter,  still  less  eliminate,  anything  of  the  old,  any 
more  than  they  can  create  new  articles  of  faith.  The- 
ology is  a  science,  and  all  sciences  are  progressive.  But 
progress  does  not  consist  in  abandoning  facts  which 
need  newer  interpretation.    Because  earth  and  air  and 

[118] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

fire  and  water  are  no  longer  acknowledged  as  elements 
we  do  not  abandon  them  as  out  of  date  and  useless 
things.  We  explain  them  in  fresh  terms;  they  have 
assumed  new  aspects  for  us,  and  this  is  the  most  that  we 
can  say  of  such  central  points  as  the  incarnation  and 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 

"But  the  end  of  the  charge  is  love  out  of  a  pure 
heart  and  a  good  conscience  and  faith  unfeigned:  from 
which  things  some  having  swerved  have  turned  aside 
unto  vain  talking"  (1  Tim.  1 :  5,  6) .  So  St.  Paul,  and  the 
Johannine  writer  places  before  us  this  great  test  with  his 
resistless  logic,  "he  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he 
hath  seen,  cannot  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen" 
(1  John  4:  20).  Here  is  a  basis  of  agreement,  if  not 
of  actual  intercommunion,  which  is  of  great  beauty  and 
power  and  utility.  Upon  this  platform  all  thinkers  can 
meet  to  fight  unitedly  against  all  that  is  debasing  and 
ignoble. 

Love  minimizes  differences  and  holds  out  at  least 
a  hope  of  ultimate  reunion;  love  brings  out  all  that  is 
best  and  makes  for  the  conmion  weal;  love  adjusts  the 
balance  and  corrects  one-sidedness  in  aims  and  interest 
and  development.  In  short,  "Love  never  faileth."  But 
love  is  not  a  minimum,  for  love  is  infinite,  seeing  that 
God  is  love.  To  love  the  Lord  God  is  an  ideal  which 
will  never  be  finally  reached;  it  involves  an  infinite 
progression  Godwards.  Heights  that  are  won  with 
much  labor  and  pain  and  sacrifice  are  seen  to  be  but  tiny 
hills  from  which  the  greater  heights  before  us  are  the 
more  plainly  visible.  The  glory  of  true  life  and  real 
religion  lies  in  the  undeviating  pursuit  of  the  unattain- 
able. The  important  things  about  God,  the  God  of 
love,  are  not  so  much  the  things  which  we  know  or  think 

[119] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

we  know,  as  those  which  we  all  have  yet  to  learn.  It 
is  true  that  before  we  can  construct  our  sentences  we 
must  have  some  correctness  of  spelling  in  the  matter  of 
our  words.  But  so  long  as  we  all  speak  in  different 
languages  we  must  not  look  for  exact  verbal  or  literal 
similarity.  Love  is  the  Esperanto  of  the  spirit  life. 
The  search  for  a  lowest  common  denominator  is  mun- 
dane and  cramping  and  futile ;  the  quest  of  the  greatest 
comjnon  measure  is  spiritual  and  heavenly  and  glorious. 
Similarly  no  one  in  their  senses  would  deny  that 
science  and  religion  should  go  hand  in  hand.  They  are 
both  seeking  the  ultimate  Cause;  they  both  desire  to 
spell  out  syllable  by  syllable  the  writing  of  the  finger 
of  God  upon  the  papyrus  roll  of  human  history,  and 
upon  the  inscriptions  of  the  universe.  Both  are  in  part 
agnostic.  Each  in  turn  says,  "We  speak  that  we  do 
know,"  but  each  in  turn  is  led  also  to  newer  experiences 
and  fresh  discoveries,  from  the  known  to  the  unknown, 
from  the  visible  to  him  who  stands  behind.  Science  is 
religion,  and  religion  is  science;  but  when  science  be- 
comes a  religion, ,  or  religion  becomes  a  science,  their 
votaries  try  to  measure  the  ocean  by  thimblefuls,  or  to 
count  the  sand  grain  by  grain. 

"Earth's  crammed  with  heaven, 
And  every  common  bush  afire  with  God; 
But  only  he  who  sees  takes  off  his  shoes. 
The  rest  sit  round  it,  and  pluck  blackberries, 
And  daub  their  natural  faces  unaware 
More  and  more  from  the  first  similitude." 
(E.  B.  Browning,  Aurora  Leigh,) 

Truly  "the  end  of  the  charge  is  love,"  one  can  say  no 
more  and  no  less. 

[120] 


James  Or.  Adderley 

(C)  Sarony  &  Co.,  Ltd. 


GROUP  TWO 


[121] 


LYMAN   ABBOTT,   D.D.,   Lt.D.,   L.H-D., 

NEW   YORK^   N.   Y. 

Editor-in-chief  of  The  Outlook  since  1893;  born  at  Rox- 
bury,  Mass.,  Dec.  18,  1835;  admitted  to  the  New  York 
bar,  1856,  and  still  a  member  of  the  New  York  State  bar; 
ordained  to  the  Congregational  ministry,  I860;  pastor  in 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  1860-65;  New  England  Church,  New 
York  City,  1865-69;  secretary  of  the  American  Union 
Commission,  1865-68;  in  literary  work,  1869-88;  pastor 
of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  1888-99;  editor  of  the 
Literary  Record  of  Harper's  Magazine,  Illustrated  Chris- 
tian  Weekly;  associate  editor,  with  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
of  The  Christian  Union;  author  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth; 
Old  Testament  Shadows  of  New  Testament  Truth; 
A  hay  man's  Story;  How  to  Study  the  Bible;  Illus- 
trated Commentary  on  the  New  Testament;  Dictionary  of 
Religious  Knowledge  (with  late  T.  J.  Conant) ;  A  Study 
of  Human  Nature;  In  Aid  of  Faith;  Life  of  Christ;  Evo- 
lution of  Christianity;  The  Theology  of  an  Evolutionist; 
Christianity  and  Social  Problems;  Life  and  Letters  of 
Paul;  The  Life  That  Really  Is;  Problems  of  Life;  Life 
and  Literature  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews;  The  Rights  of 
Man;  Henry  Ward  Beecher;  The  Other  Room;  The 
Great  Companion;  Christian  Ministry;  Personality  of 
God;  Industrial  Problems;  The  Home  Builder;  The  Tem- 
ple; The  Spirit  of  Democracy;  America  in  the  Making, 

*SoME  of  my  unknown  friends  apparently  think  that  I 
have  too  little  regard  for  the  importance  of  a  creed  as 
the  basis  of  a  church  organization.  I  confess  frankly 
to  a  prejudice  on  this  subject,  growing  out  of  two  chap- 
ters in  my  life-experience.  Perhaps  the  narration  of 
these  two  chapters  may  serve  partially  to  explain  my 
attitude  respecting  creeds  to  some  of  my  unknown 
friends,  and  perhaps  to  justify  that  attitude  to  others 
among  them. 

*  Quoted  by  permission  of  Dr.  Abbott  from  The  Outlook,  Jan.  4,  1913. 

[123] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  first  church  to  which  I  was  invited  was  the  First 
Congregational  Church  of  Terre  Haute,  Indiana.  I 
went  there  knowing  nothing  of  the  church;  the  church 
knew  nothing  of  me  except  through  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation from  a  common  friend.  I  went  to  supply  the 
pulpit  during  the  temporary  absence  of  its  pastor  for  a 
year  of  vacation,  and,  on  his  resignation  before  that 
year  had  expired,  I  was  chosen  as  his  successor,  I 
found  there  a  Congregational  church,  the  strongest 
Protestant  church,  financially  and  socially,  in  the  grow- 
ing city,  with  practically  no  Congregational  churches 
in  the  vicinity.  There  was  one  small  Congregational 
Church  ten  or  twelve  miles  to  the  west;  the  nearest 
Congregational  church  to  the  east  was  in  Indianapolis, 
and  that  was  not  a  strong  one.  The  history  of  this 
Congregational  church  in  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  inter- 
ested me.  ...  As  I  recall  the  history,  it  was  some- 
thing like  this : 

Dr.  Jewett  had  been  educated  under  an  Indepen- 
dent Presbyterian  minister  in  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
and  twenty-five  years  before  I  went  to  Terre  Haute 
had  started  for  the  West  to  find  a  missionary  field,  for 
he  was  full  of  missionary  enthusiasm.  This  was,  if 
my  recollection  serves  me  aright,  about  the  year  1835. 
He  landed  in  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  on  a  Friday  night, 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  Terre  Haute  citizen  in  the 
hotel,  and  went  with  him  on  a  hunting  expedition  upon 
the  prairie  on  Saturday.  There  was  only  one  church  in 
the  town,  an  Old  School  Presbyterian  church  of  the 
Southern  type,  extremely  Calvinistic,  extremely  narrow, 
and  with  a  very  small  congregation.  The  only  other 
preaching  place  was  the  court-house.  When  any  itiner- 
ant minister  happened  that  way,  the  court-house  bell 

[  124] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

was  rung  and  he  preached  to  such  congregation  as  might 
chance  to  gather. 

Dr.  Jewett's  Terre  Haute  acquaintance  was  at- 
tracted toward  him  and  invited  him  to  preach  on  the 
Sunday  following  their  hunting  expedition.  He  ac- 
cepted the  invitation ;  the  bell  was  rung,  a  congregation 
came  together,  and  heard  a  sermon  such  as  they  had 
perhaps  never  heard  before,  for  Dr.  Jewett  was  a  nat- 
ural orator,  as  his  subsequent  history  proved.  The 
people  gathered  about  him  at  the  close  of  the  service, 
and  urged  him  to  remain  another  week  and  preach  the 
following  Sunday.  .  .  .  He  yielded  to  their  per- 
suasions, preached  the  following  Sunday,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  sermon  called  on  all  those  who  were  willing 
to  imite  in  forming  a  Christian  church  to  meet  upon  the 
next  day  for  that  purpose. 

Something  like  a  score  answered  the  invitation — a 
few  men,  more  women — ^who  had  come  from  different 
localities  and  had  been  brought  up  in  different  churches, 
and  whose  traditional  creeds  were  widely  different. 
They  agreed  to  form  a  Christian  church.  This  was  not, 
however,  the  only  support  which  this  church  in  its  cradle 
was  to  have.  There  were  business  men  in  the  town  who 
desired  its  prosperity,  and  who  argued,  very  wisely,  that 
they  could  not  expect  immigrants  to  settle  in  the  town, 
which  had  already  reached  a  considerable  size,  if  there 
were  no  growing  church  in  it.  So  they  were  willing,  for 
real  estate  and  business  reasons,  to  contribute  to  the 
cause. 

Thus  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana,  was  born  by  the  spontaneous  coming 
together  of  Christians  of  different  traditional  creeds, 
different  temperaments,  different  religious  habits.    For 

[125] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ten  years  this  church  went  on  without  any  creed  of  any 
description.  It  grew  apace.  It  became  the  church  of 
the  town.  It  raised  the  necessary  funds  to  put  up  a 
church  building  adequate  for  its  purpose.  Then,  partly 
because  it  felt  the  need  of  fellowship,  partly  because 
other  Congregational  churches  had  been  formed  in  the 
vicinity  and  wished  its  fellowship,  it  adopted  a  simple 
Congregational  creed  and  became  a  Congregational 
church.  But  when  I  went  there,  fifteen  years  after  this 
creed  had  been  adopted,  I  did  not  find  that  this  creed 
was  the  real  basis  of  church  fellowship.  That  basis  was 
a  common  purpose  to  promote  Christian  life  in  the  com- 
munity. 

And  yet  this  church  had  not  only  the  largest  and 
best  church  edifice  in  the  city,  and  the  widest  moral 
influence;  it  had  sustained  for  twenty-five  years  a 
preacher  of  rare  pulpit  power,  one  who  was  regarded  by 
many  as  the  rival  in  eloquence  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
who  was  then  settled  over  a  Presbyterian  church  in  In- 
dianapolis. It  had  gathered  a  church  membership  of 
some  two  hundred,  and  a  successful  Sunday-school  of 
perhaps  two-thirds  that  number.  And  under  the  joint 
ministry  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  Dr.  Jewett  re- 
vivals had  been  conducted  with  remarkable  success  in 
western  Indiana,  affecting  not  merely  the  churches  of 
those  two  pastors,  not  merely  the  two  cities  of  Terre 
Haute  and  Indianapolis,  but  also  all  the  region  round 
about. 

But  the  bond  which  united  the  membership  of  this 
church  was  not  a  common  creed,  it  was  a  common  pur- 
pose to  do  the  Master's  work  in  the  spirit  of  the  Master. 
One  illustration  of  this  fact  may  serve  to  make  the  spirit 
of  the  church  clear.    A  member  of  the  congregation, 

[126] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

brought  up  as  a  Quaker,  and  therefore  not  believing 
in  the  church  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper,  desired  to  unite  with  the  church  because  he 
desired  to  confess  his  faith  in  Christ.  He  objected,  how- 
ever, to  baptism.  I  told  him  that  I  would  submit  to  the 
church  the  question  whether  they  would  admit  him  with- 
out baptism.  I  promised  to  urge  his  admission,  and  I 
thought  it  would  be  granted,  though  not  without  ob- 
jection; but  I  asked  him  if  he  had  an  objection  to 
baptism  if  his  views  on  the  subject  were  frankly  stated, 
and  he  said  no.  I  stated  his  views  to  the  church;  he  was 
unanimously  admitted  and  received  baptism,  it  being 
explained  at  the  time  to  the  congregation  that  he  re- 
ceived it  as  a  concession  to  others,  not  because  it  was 
in  accordance  with  his  views  of  the  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament. 

I  was  pastor  of  this  church  throughout  the  Civil 
War,  which  in  that  portion  of  the  West  was  a  far 
greater  trial  to  Christian  fellowship  than  in  most  East- 
ern communities.  We  were  not  far  from  the  border 
line;  we  were  surrounded  by  men  who  sympathized  with 
the  South  and  hoped  for  its  victory;  we  were  on  more 
than  one  occasion  threatened  with  raids  by  Southern 
cavalry.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the  congregation 
had  come  either  from  Southern  or  from  border  States. 
They  were  loyal  to  the  Government,  but  were  either  in 
favor  of  or  indifferent  to  slavery.  In  fact,  I  can  recall 
only  one  family  in  the  church  that  could  have  been  called 
anti-slavery  according  to  the  New  England  standards. 
I  went  there  fresh  from  the  inspiration  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher's  preaching,  and  carried  into  the  pulpit  the 
lessons  which  I  had  learned  from  him  and  the  spirit  with 
which  he  had  imbued  me,  though  without  the  eloquence 

[127] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

which  he  possessed.  Nevertheless,  this  church  remained 
united,  with  only  three  or  four  secessions  from  it, 
throughout  the  war,  bound  together,  not  by  the  creed 
which  was  in  its  archives,  but  by  the  Christian  purpose 
which  had  brought  its  members  together  and  kept  them 
in  a  brotherhood  for  ten  years  without  any  creed  what- 
ever. 

In  1887,  on  the  death  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  I 
was  called  at  first  to  supply  the  pulpit  and  then  to  be- 
come the  pastor  of  Plymouth  Church,  to  which  he  by 
his  preaching  had  given  an  international  reputation. 
.  .  .  This  church  had,  since  1870,  ceased  to  require 
the  assent  of  members  to  its  simple  creed,  which  re- 
mained in  the  records  of  the  church  for  historical  rather 
than  for  doctrinal  purposes,  and  had  substituted  there- 
for the  following  simple  covenant : 

"Do  you  now  avouch  the  Lord  Jehovah  to  be  your 
God,  Jesus  Christ  to  be  your  Saviour,  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  be  your  Sanctifier?  Renouncing  the  dominion  of  this 
world  over  you,  do  you  consecrate  your  whole  soul  and 
body  to  the  service  of  God?  Do  you  receive  his  word 
as  the  rule  of  your  life,  and,  by  his  grace  assisting  you, 
will  you  persevere  in  this  consecration  unto  the  end?" 

In  the  membership  of  this  church  were  men  who 
theologically  believed  with  John  Calvin,  or  at  least  in 
modern  Calvinism,  and  men  who  believed  in  the  the- 
ology of  John  Wesley;  men  who  believed  in  infant 
baptism  and  men  who  believed  only  in  adult  baptism; 
men  who  believed  in  eternal  pimishment,  men  who  be- 
lieved in  universal  restoration,  and  men  who  had  no 
definite  belief  on  the  subject;  men  who  believed  in  the 
orthodox  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  and  men  who  declined 
to  have  any  opinion  on  the  metaphysical  relations  of 

[128] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Jesus  Christ  to  the  Eternal;  men  who  accepted  the 
verbal  inspiration  of  the  Bible  and  men  who  regarded 
the  Bible  with  reverence,  but  with  discriminating  rever- 
ence, as  a  revelation  of  the  Father,  but  a  revelation  in 
and  through  the  experience  of  his  children.  But  all  of 
them  agreed  in  a  very  sincere  desire  to  learn  the  truth 
of  life  from  Jesus  Christ  and  to  do  Christ's  work  in  the 
Christ  spirit.  This  church  had  been  through  fiery 
trials.  And  yet  I  venture  to  say  that  a  more  united 
church  was  not  to  be  foimd  anywhere  throughout  the 
American  Republic.  It  was  united,  not  by  its  creed, 
that  is,  not  by  a  common  opinion,  but  by  its  covenant, 
that  is,  by  a  common  purpose. 

I  draw  no  moral  from  these  two  incidents  in  my  own 
experience.  I  tell  the  story,  and  leave  the  story  to  carry 
its  own  moral.  My  unknown  friends,  however,  will  not 
perhaps  be  surprised  to  know  that  these  experiences 
have  had  their  effect  upon  me  and  have  strengthened 
my  conviction  that  the  true  bond  of  unity  of  a  church 
is  not  a  common  opinion  but  a  common  purpose  and  a 
common  spirit. 

In  The  Outlook  of  May  31,  1913,  in  reply  to  the 
question,  "Can  you  suggest  to  me  a  simple  creed  as  basis 
for  a  church?"  Dr.  Abbott  has  the  following: 

I  have  long  since  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
basis  of  church  fellowship  should  be  a  covenant,  not  a 
creed ;  that  is,  it  should  be  an  agreement  in  purpose  and 
aim  rather  than  in  opinion.  This  is  partly  because  when 
we  attempt  to  define  our  opinions  we  analyze,  discrim- 
inate, separate  instinctively  our  opinion  from  other 
opinions  that  are  analogous ;  partly  because  all  religious 
terms  are  necessarily  indefinite,  and  the  same  word  con- 

[129] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

veys  different  meanings  to  different  persons.  "Who," 
says  Boutroux,  "can  express  in  real,  intelligible  terms 
what  he  means  by  the  Divine  Personality,  by  the  action 
of  grace  within  the  human  soul?  Who  can  say,  so  as  to 
satisfy  his  own  intelligence,  what  he  means  by  God?" 
On  the  other  hand,  action  tends  to  unity.  We  work  to- 
gether animated  by  a  common  purpose,  although  we 
differ  in  our  definitions  of  our  opinions.  Again  to  quote 
Boutroux:  "What  is  the  Divine  Personality?  Having 
regard  to  the  understanding,  I  can  make  no  answer. 
But  I  can  grasp  immediately  such  a  precept  as  this: 
Behave  in  your  relations  with  God  as  in  your  relations 
with  a  person."  For  this  reason  I  should  like  to  see 
church  creeds  as  conditions  of  church  membership  en- 
tirely abandoned,  and  in  the  place  of  them  substituted 
a  covenant,  or  agreement  for  cooperation  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  common  purpose — such  a  covenant  as 
the  following,  which  is  employed  by  the  Central  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Boston  in  receiving  to  temporary 
membership  students  who  are  temporarily  residing 
in  that  city.  I  would  like  to  see  such  a  covenant  made 
the  permanent  bond  of  union  of  permanent  members  in 
every  Christian  church:  "With  the  members  of  this 
Church  and  by  God's  strength  I  do  make  this  Covenant : 
that  I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  and  his  teaching;  that  I 
will  try  to  make  his  will  my  own  and  to  do  each  day  what 
I  think  he  would  have  me  do ;  that  I  will  study  his  words 
and  strive  so  to  walk  that  my  life  may  not  be  controlled 
by  the  desires  and  passions  of  the  flesh,  but  by  the  spirit 
of  love  and  truth;  that  so  long  as  I  remain  in  Boston 
I  will  be  true  to  this  Covenant  and  to  the  fellowship 
of  this  Church." 

[ISO] 


THE  HON.  REV.  JAMES  GRANVILLE 
ADDERLEY, 

BIRMINGHAM^  ENGLAND 

Vicar  of  St.  Gabriers  and  honorary  canon  of  Birming- 
ham; bom  July  1,  1861;  educated  at  Eton  and  Christ 
Church,  Oxford;  head  of  Oxford  House,  Bethnal  Green, 
1885-86;  deacon,  1887;  priest,  1888;  head  of  Christ 
Church  Oxford  Mission,  1887-93;  curate  of  Allhallows, 
Barking,  1893-94';  St.  Andrew's,  Plaistow,  E.,  1894-97; 
minister  of  Berkeley  Chapel,  Mayfair,  1897-1901;  vicar 
of  St.  Mark's,  Marylebone,  1901-4;  author  of  Stephen 
Remarx;  The  New  Floreat,  a  Letter  to  an  Eton  Boy;  St, 
Francis  of  Assist;  Monsieur  Vincent;  A  Nero  Earth;  Be- 
hold the  Days  Come;  A  Piece  of  New  Cloth;  The  Parson 
in  Socialism;  The  Creed  and  Real  Life. 

I  TAKE  it  that  the  object  of  this  symposium  is  a  prac- 
tical one,  and  that  we  sincerely  desire  to  discover  di- 
rections in  which  the  religious  leaders  of  the  day  may 
proceed  in  order  to  meet  more  effectively  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  multitude. 

We  make  a  great  mistake  in  talking  of  "attractive" 
services,  doctrines  which  "attract,"  etc.  We  are  not 
advertisers  of  a  patent  pill  but  physicians  anxious  to 
heal  or  to  administer  strength.  We  are  surrounded  by 
men  and  women  yearning  after  spiritual  life.  Our 
object,  then,  should  be  to  discover  that  need  and  to  sup- 
ply it,  not  to  force  a  uniform  medicine  upon  everybody 
without  inquiry.  There  is  too  little  spiritual  diagnosis. 
Again,  even  when  we  have  discovered  the  need,  we  are 
rough  and  unscientific  in  our  manner  of  dealing  with  it. 
We  do  not  discriminate  among  our  hearers  and  our 
patients.  I  should  recommend  a  much  more  careful 
study  of  men's  minds,  manners,  and  tastes,  and  a  much 

[131] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

more  restrained  and  gradual  application  of  the  healing 
and  comforting  influences  of  religion.  The  Christian 
faith  is  not  a  solid  block  to  be  "planked  down"  before 
everybody,  to  be  accepted  whole  and  complete  whether 
he  wants  it  or  not.  The  "take  it  or  leave  it"  style  of 
preaching  has  no  future  of  spiritual  success.  This  does 
not  mean  that  creeds  and  set  forms  of  worship  are  of 
no  use.  But  it  does  mean  that  there  must  be  life  and 
therefore  flexibility  and  change  and  freedom  in  the 
way  those  creeds  and  set  forms  are  put  before  men.  The 
essence  of  Christianity  is  that  it  is  not  "Christianity" 
but  "Christ,"  not  a  system  (primarily)  but  a  person. 
It  began  with  the  contact  of  persons,  the  religious  minds 
of  the  disciples  seeking  for  spiritual  things  under  a 
Master,  intensely  human  and  therefore  intensely  divine. 
It  is  still  the  same  after  all  these  centuries.  The  "Holy 
Spirit"  is  the  perpetuation  of  the  personal  Christ:  the 
holy  catholic  Church  is  the  continuance  of  a  body  of 
disciples,  a  body  with  a  spiritual  desire  for  Christ,  not 
a  corpse  or  a  mummy  unable  to  move.  If,  when  hu- 
manity touches  the  Church,  it  finds  it  cold  and  lifeless,  it 
is  repelled.  All  the  sermons  and  services,  however  out- 
wardly "attractive,"  can  have  no  effect  if  they  lack  life. 
They  are  like  jewels  in  a  shop  window,  quite  unsatis- 
factory to  the  mob  that  cannot  buy. 

Once  again,  by  way  of  general  remark.  Are  we 
not  very  narrow  in  our  idea  of  what  spiritual  life  is? 
By  "spiritual  life"  we  so  often  mean  the  life  of  church 
prayers  and  devotions.  How  many  clergy  are  there 
who  believe  that  the  artist  and  the  poet  and  the  play- 
wright are  engaged  in  work  similar  to  their  own?  In 
what  we  call  "material"  matters  we  fully  recognize 
that   a   doctor   and   a  hospital  nurse   are   our  com- 

[  132  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

panions,  but  with  these  others  we  are  inclined  to 
claim  no  relationship.  Whereas  in  a  case  of  sick- 
ness we  frankly  join  with  the  doctor  and  the  nurse  in 
giving  medicine  and  food  to  the  patient,  in  a  case  of 
spiritual  disorder  we  imagine  that  it  is  our  affair  only, 
and  reject  the  assistance  of  others.  When  we  put  a 
statue  or  picture  in  our  churches  we  think  it  quite 
unnecessary  to  consult  an  artist:  we  are  content  with 
miserable  specimens  of  poetry  for  our  hymns,  and 
shocking  compositions  for  our  music.  Even  when  we 
do  take  trouble  over  our  architecture,  or  our  organs,  or 
choirs,  it  is  more  as  an  advertisement  to  attract  crowds 
to  hear  us  deliver  our  "spiritual"  message,  than  as  being 
part  of  the  message  itself,  probably  more  potent  than 
our  sermons.  Let  us  begin  then  by  enlarging  our  view 
of  the  spiritual  life  and  welcoming  all  contributions  to 
its  enrichment. 

Now  as  to  the  Church  of  England,  We  are  very 
much  handicapped  (to  my  mind)  by  our  antiquated 
forms  of  service ;  also  by  the  fact  that  we  have  only  one 
form  provided  for  so  various  a  flock.  I  am  well  aware 
that  bishops  and  others  do  their  best  to  allow  a  certain 
elasticity  in  the  use  of  the  Prayer  Book,  but  when  all 
is  said  and  done  the  church  is  prevented  from  minister- 
ing freely  to  all  kinds  of  spiritual  necessities.  A  great 
deal  of  time  and  energy  is  spent  on  that  which  satisfieth 
not.  Whole  tracts  and  departments  of  human  life  are 
left  out  of  the  purview  of  the  average  Church  of  Eng- 
land minister.  Numbers  of  the  best  minds  in  all  classes 
are  wholly  uninfluenced  by  the  church  and  will  continue 
to  be  so  until  the  authorities  recognize  that  the  ordinary 
apparatus  with  which  a  clergyman  is  equipped  for  work 
is  utterly  unsuited  to  the  work  he  has  to  do.    The  pres- 

[133] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ent  agitation  for  a  revision  of  the  Prayer  Book  exposes 
our  impotence.  We  cannot  revise  our  services  because 
we  still  hanker  after  a  uniformity  and  inoffensiveness 
which  it  is  either  impossible  to  get,  or,  if  got  in  the  form 
of  a  compromise,  is  not  worth  having.  Having  rejected 
the  absolutism  of  Rome  we  shall  be  even  worse  off  if  we 
try  to  attain  to  a  modem  uniformity  which  cannot  satis- 
fy anybody. 

But  to  look  at  our  services  more  closely.  They  fail 
utterly  to  meet  the  need  of  the  learned  or  the  unlearned. 
The  language  is  beautiful  as  literature,  but  almost  imin- 
telligible  to  the  ignorant.  The  Lectionary  and  the 
Psalter  are  arranged  with  little  regard  to  edification. 
We  should  recognize  the  fact,  unwelcome  as  it  may  be, 
that  the  vast  majority  come  to  church  only  on  Sunday 
evenings.  This  means  that  there  are  only  104  readings 
of  the  lessons  which  are  likely  to  be  heard  widely.  How 
very  important  it  is,  then,  that  those  104  passages  should 
be  carefully  chosen  so  that  only  the  most  important 
parts  of  the  Bible  should  be  read! 

By  our  present  arrangement  it  often  happens  that 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  other  classical  parts  of 
Scripture  are  not  read  on  a  Sunday  evening  at  all.  To 
my  mind  they  should  be  read  two  or  three  times  a  year 
(at  least)  and  explained. 

What,  again,  can  be  more  futile  and  even  dangerous 
than  to  read  the  Old  Testament  without  comment? 
Much  of  the  unbelief  of  the  present  day  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  ignorant  people  have  taken  their  crude  ideas 
of  God  or  of  religion  generally  from  an  unexplained 
Bible.  They  have  naturally  supposed  that  we  are  com- 
mitted to  any  idea  of  the  Deity  which  finds  a  place  in 
the  Old  Testament.     The  average  poor  person   (and 

[134] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

many  a  rich  one  too)  imagines,  if  he  thinks  about  it,  that 
he  is  obliged  to  believe,  as  a  churchman,  in  all  the  im- 
moral and  impossible  views  of  God  which  any  Hebrew 
writer  may  have  believed  himself  or  put  into  the  mouth 
of  his  heroes. 

The  intellectual  man,  of  course,  is  not  led  astray, 
but  neither  is  he  led  inside  the  church.  He  simply 
ignores  the  whole  business  and  pities  the  people  who  go 
to  matins  and  evensong.  In  this,  and  in  much  more 
besides,  the  whole  affair  is  remote  from  life,  as  people 
know  it.  Is  it  surprising  that  the  trades  unionists  and 
the  socialists  in  one  class,  and  the  scientists  and  generally 
well-read  people  in  the  other  do  not  look  to  the  Church 
for  inspiration.  I  do  not  agree  that  all  that  is  wanted 
is  a  church  that  will  preach  "Love  one  another."  No- 
body feels  it  necessary  to  go  to  church  to  learn  that. 
We  all  know  it  already.  But  we  want  religion.  We 
want  something  to  raise  us  up  beyond  the  thought  of 
this  present  life,  something  to  inspire,  something  to  feed 
our  imagination,  to  give  us  a  vision.  To  get  this  the 
clergy  must  be  more  human.  It  is  more  a  question  of 
getting  Christian  people  to  go  into  the  world  and  re- 
main Christian  than  of  getting  worldly  people  to  go 
to  church.  At  present,  if  the  thoughtful,  active  people 
of  any  class  go  to  church  they  are  "choked  oflf"  religion. 
It  is  all  so  stiff  and  dull  and  uninspiring.  I  cannot 
imagine  a  keen  politician  or  sociologist,  an  engineer,  an 
actor  or  an  artist  finding  much  to  help  him  in  an  Angli- 
can church.  For  the  moment  the  need  seems  rather  to 
be  to  revise  our  methods,  to  concentrate  ourselves  on 
producing  a  more  spiritually  efficient  circle  within  the 
Church.  We  must  ourselves  believe  in  the  capacity  of 
our  own  religion  if  we  would  inspire  others.    Take  any 

[135] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

great  movement  of  the  present  day  and  ask  why  it  is 
outside  the  Church.  You  will  generally  find  it  is  not 
because  the  promoters  of  the  movement  are  troubled 
about  "ritualism"  or  "higher  criticism,"  but  simply  be- 
cause they  cannot  see  what  inspiration  they  are  likely 
to  get  from  the  Church  which  they  cannot  get  without  it. 
Mr.  Keir  Hardie  and  Mrs.  Pankhurst  are  not,  I  sup- 
pose, against  the  Church,  but  neither  are  they  very 
keenly  for  it.  They  find  their  inspiration  elsewhere. 
Mr.  Bradlaugh  in  old  days,  and  Mr.  Blatchf ord  in  these, 
only  flogged  a  dead  horse  when  they  set  themselves  to 
caricature  the  Christianity  of  the  churches.  Nobody 
cared.  Life,  life,  life,  that  is  our  need.  The  dry  bones 
can  live  and  men  can  and  will  grow  into  the  fulness  of 
the  stature  of  Christ.  But  it  is  the  "body  of  Christ," 
the  Church  itself,  which  must  begin  to  resemble  Christ. 
It  used  to  be  said  that  we  were  buried  in  the  grave 
clothes  of  Christ  and  had  not  risen.  It  is  rather  that  we 
have  dressed  up  the  risen  Christ  in  clothes  that  prevent 
his  being  recognized.  Brotherhood,  justice,  peace,  lib- 
erty, the  kingdom  of  God.  These  are  Christian  words 
which  are  heard  with  more  meaning  outside  the  temples 
of  Christ.  Make  them  realities  within  the  holy  walls 
and  we  shall  light  a  candle  that  can  never  be  put  out. 


[136] 


WALTER  FREDERIC  ADENEY,  D.D., 

MANCHESTER^  ENGLAND 

Principal  Lancashire  Independent  College  since  1903; 
born  Ealing,  Middlesex,  England,  March  14,  1849;  edu- 
cated at  New  College  and  University  College,  London; 
minister  of  the  Congregational  Church  at  Acton,  1872-89; 
lecturer  in  biblical  and  systematic  theology  at  New  Col- 
lege, London,  1887-89;  professor  of  New  Testament  exe- 
gesis and  church  history,  1889*1903;  lecturer  at  Hackney 
College,  London,  1898-1903;  lecturer  on  the  history  of 
doctrine  at  the  University  of  Manchester  since  1905;  au- 
thor of  The  Hebrew  Utopia;  From  Christ  to  Constantine; 
From  Constantine  to  Charles  the  Great;  Theology  of  the 
New  Testament;  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  Esther;  Canticles 
and  Lamentations  (Expositor's  Bible);  Women  of  the  New 
Testament;  Hon)  to  Read  the  Bible;  A  Century's 
Progress;  St.  Luke,  and  Galatians  and  Thessalonians 
(Century  Bible);  History  of  the  Greek  and  Eastern 
Churches  (International  Theological  Library);  The  New 
Testament  Doctrine  of  Christ;  The  Christian  Conception 
of  God. 

I  DO  not  think  that  the  imposition  of  elaborate  doctrinal 
statements  is  a  cause  of  non-attendance  at  the  churches 
that  I  know  best — ^the  Congregational;  because  such 
statements  are  not  in  use  among  them.  I  would  not 
ask  people  to  subscribe  to  statements  that  deal  with 
debated  questions  or  any  others,  but  leave  freedom. 
Membership  in  a  Congregational  Church  is  only  con- 
ditioned by  personal  loyalty  to  Christ  as  Lord  and 
Master  and  an  honest  effort  to  live  the  Christian  life. 
I  think  the  theology  of  the  Church  should  be  founded 
on  the  personality  of  Christ  as  he  is  seen  in  the  gospels, 
interpreted  by  the  apostles,  especially  as  this  is  verified 
by  Christian  experience.     Ultimately  the  gospel  mes- 

[137] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

sage  must  agree  with  the  sum  total  of  philosophic  and 
scientific  truth.  There  must  not  be  inconsistent  ideas 
in  separate  compartments  in  the  final  synthesis.  But 
we  are  not  ripe  for  that  yet.  We  cannot  make  the  com- 
plete circuit — therefore  seeming  contradictions  may 
have  to  be  endured  if  each  fact  and  truth  is  guaranteed 
on  its  own  evidence — the  religious  evidence  being  as 
real  in  its  sphere  as  the  scientific  is  in  the  sphere  of 
science. 

I  doubt  whether  these  questions  have  much  to  do  with 
the  decline  of  church  attendance,  which  I  attribute  in 
part  at  least  to  the  decay  of  vigorous,  orthodox  Sab- 
batarianism that  compelled  church-going  for  the  sake 
of  respectability;  to  the  force  of  counter  attractions — 
week-ends,  excursions,  golf,  motoring,  etc., — among  the 
well-to-do,  and  to  dissatisfaction  with  the  supposed  class 
favoritism  of  the  churches  among  working  men.  I  be- 
lieve the  thoughtful  are  more  interested  in  religion  than 
ever.  But  the  stiffness  and  formality  of  church  meth- 
ods repel  them  and  they  decline  to  submit  in  silence  to 
authoritative  pulpit  dictation — especially  from  second- 
rate  men. 


[138] 


SVANTE  AUGUST  ARRHENIUS,  Ph.D.,  M.D., 

STOCKHOLM,  SWEDEN 

Director  of  the  Physico-Chemical  Department  of  the  Nobel 
Institute  since  1905;  born  at  Wijk,  near  Upsala,  Sweden, 
Feb.  19,  1859;  educated  at  the  Cathedral  School  and  Uni- 
versity, Upsala ;  privat-docent  at  the  University  of  Upsala, 
1884;  teacher  of  physics.  University  of  Stockholm,  1891; 
professor  of  physics  at  same  university,  1895;  rector, 
1897-1902;  received  the  Davy  Medal,  1902;  Nobel  Prize, 
1903;  has  received  honorary  degrees  from  Heidelberg, 
Oxford,  Cambridge,  and  Leipsic;  originator  of  the  the- 
ory of  electrolytic  dissociation;  author  of  Lehrbuch  der 
Tcosmischen  Physih;  Electrochemistry;  Immunochemistry ; 
Theories  of  Chemistry;  Worlds  in  the  Making;  Life  of  the 
Universe  (the  English  titles  are  of  books  translated  from 
the  Swedish). 

Certainly  it  is  of  great  practical  value  that  different 
individuals,  belonging  to  the  same  state  and  still  more 
to  the  same  family,  have  not  too  discordant  opinions  in 
religious  questions  of  practical  importance.  That  is 
the  real  background  of  the  peculiar  Protestant  device 
"Cujus  regio  ejus  religio"  (To  every  land  its  own 
faith).  Experience  shows  that  the  princes  ojBFend  more 
than  other  people  against  this  maxim,  which  really  has 
an  altruistic  meaning. 

Regarding  theoretical  questions  in  theology  the 
opinion  is  subject  to  the  general  development,  which  is 
now  going  on  very  rapidly.  Opinions  which  forty  years 
ago  were  regarded  as  incompatible  with  the  Christian 
religion  are  now  expressed  officially  by  members  of  the 
theological  faculties  in  the  universities. 

It  seems  quite  clear  that  the  belief  of  one  individual 
cannot  completely  coincide  with  that  of  another.    For 

[139] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

what  we  believe  is  a  product  of  our  previous  experience, 
and  this  cannot  be  identical  for  two  persons.  There- 
fore the  scientist  generally  differs  in  a  high  degree  from 
a  philologist  or  still  more  from  a  theologian  in  his  views 
of  the  imiverse.  And  it  will  prove  impossible  to  unite 
the  ideas  because  the  theologians  and  allied  philosophers 
believe  in  an  absolute  truth,  whereas  the  scientist  only 
hopes  to  reach  a  certain  probability  and  admits  that  all 
our  knowledge  is  a  fruit  of  our  experience  which  changes 
with  time. 


[140  3 


THE   REV.    HUGH  JOHN   DUKINFIELD 
ASTLEY,  Litt.D.,  F.R.Hist.S., 

KING^S  LYNN^   ENGLAND 

Vicar  of  East  and  West  Rudham,  Norfolk,  since  1896; 
born  Sept.  29,  1856;  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin; 
ordained  in  1881;  incumbent  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist's 
Church,  Brixton,  S.W.,  1894-96;  honorary  editorial  secre- 
tary of  the  British  Archaeological  Association,  1897-1906; 
librarian  of  the  British  Numismatic  Society,  1903-6; 
Donnellan  lecturer  at  the  University  of  Dublin,  1906-7; 
fellow  of  the  Royal  Anthropological  Institute;  member  of 
the  Royal  Archaeological  Institute;  author  of  The  Resur- 
rection and  Modern  Thought;  The  Date  of  the  Samaritan 
Pentateuch;  Anglo-Catholic  Teaching  on  the  Holy  Eu- 
charist; The  Higher  Critics  and  Holy  Writ;  Prehistoric 
Archaeology  and  the  Old  Testament;  History  of  Lindis- 
farne;  Roche  Abbey,  Yorkshire,  and  Its  -Associations; 
Tree-  and  Pillar-Worship;  Portuguese  Parallels  to  the 
Clydeside  Discoveries;  Scandinavian  Motifs  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Norman  Ornamentation;  Norman  Fonts  in 
Northwestern  Norfolk;  Notes  on  the  IXth  Iter  of  An- 
toninus; The  Housing  Problem  in  the  Country, 

A   CREED   AND   THEOLOGY   FOR   OUR   TIME 

No  words  can  convey  better  the  "marching  orders"  of 
the  Church  than  our  Lord's  summary  of  both  law  and 
gospel  which  President  Abraham  Lincoln  wished  to 
see  inscribed  over  every  altar.  They  are  the  founda- 
tion and  the  crown,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  of  every 
ethical  system  that  is  worthy  the  name.  But  the  mo- 
ment the  average  man  attempts  to  put  the  command 
into  practise  he  finds  the  dynamic  force  wanting. 

What  then  is  the  basis  on  which  power  to  obey  the 
injunction  in  both  its  aspects  to  the  fullest  extent  may 
be  founded?    Many  answers  have  been  given.    In  the 

[141] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

one  which  limitations  of  space  will  only  allow  me  to 
outline  here  I  shall  endeavor  to  show  my  conception 
of  a  creed  and  a  theology  for  our  time. 

The  God  of  the  deist  will  not  do.  He  is  too  far  oflF, 
too  careless  of  the  universe  and  of  the  creatures  he  has 
called  into  existence  to  have  any  eflPectual  influence 
over  them. 

The  pantheist's  God  will  not  do.  He  is,  so  to  say, 
too  much  mixed  up  with  his  universe  in  all  its  categories 
to  have  any  eflicient  control  over  it. 

We  want  a  God  at  once  transcendent  and  immanent 
— a  God  over  and  in  his  imiverse  and  all  his  creatures. 
This  God  is  revealed  in  the  writings  of  the  prophets  of 
Israel  and  in  the  New  Testament,  and  is  also  postulated, 
if  not  taught,  by  science. 

For,  first,  science  has  nothing  to  say  against  the 
transcendent  God,  the  creator  and  upholder  of  all 
things.  On  this  she  is,  at  the  lowest,  agnostic.  She 
pushes  her  investigations  back  and  back  till  she  comes 
to  a  point  where  she  must  stop.  She  unifies  the  ele- 
ments and  breaks  up  the  atoms,  but  whence  came  the 
original  creative  force  that  set  all  things  in  motion  ex- 
cept from  the  Absolute,  who  is  God?  That  which  is 
relative  must  have  a  beginning.  Matter,  though  ever- 
lasting (as  far  as  science  can  judge),  is  not  eternal. 
Of  her,  as  the  Arians  said  of  the  Logos,  it  may  be  said, 
riv  iroTe  ovk  ^v  —  "there  was  a  time  when  it  was  not." 

But,  secondly,  evolution  steps  in  and  shows  that 
"force"  which  originally  evoked  the  primal  "stuff"  out 
of  which  all  things  have  been  built  up  always  at  work, 
immanent  in  all  things,  guiding,  controlling,  molding 
all  to  predestined  ends. 

We  see  the  inorganic  universe,  and  imaginative  pic- 

[142] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tures  unending,  universes  beyond  our  ken,  gradually 
taking  shape,  and  becoming  such  as  we  know  it  to-day 
through  age-long  processes  of  unnumbered  eons;  we 
see  life  beginning,  and  again  advancing  through  age- 
long processes  of  vegetable  and  animal  till  man  appears, 
a  being  conscious  of  himself,  able  to  stand  upright  and 
survey  the  universe,  of  which  he  is  a  part,  as  it  were 
from  the  outside,  with  god-like  gaze.  We  know  that 
a  hundred  millennia,  and  perhaps  more,  have  passed 
since  first  a  creation  worthy  of  the  name  of  "man"  trod 
this  globe  of  ours,  and  through  them  all  he  has  been 
advancing,  growing  first  physically,  then  mentally,  and 
in  these  latter  ages,  spiritually — progressing  in  the 
higher  races,  whose  environment  has  been  favorable, 
from  savagery  through  barbarism  to  civilization. 

The  mighty  "force"  that  had  been  at  work  through 
all  the  ages  "informing"  the  material  universe,  and  in 
due  course  producing  an  ever-increasing  complexity  of 
living  things  through  the  transformations  of  the  primi- 
tive cell  or  cells  of  protoplasm,  now  manifested  itself  in 
the  spiritual  sphere  until  it  concentrated  itself  in  the 
Christ,  who  is  himself  the  life  and  the  light  of  the  world ; 
and  when  he  departed  it  diffused  itself,  so  to  say,  once 
more  through  the  Church  which  is  his  body,  in  all  its 
ever-widening  ramifications,  for  the  imparting  of  that 
Spirit  which  shall  lead  men  toward,  and  give  them  the 
necessary  motive  power,  for  the  display  of  that  "love" 
to  God  and  man  which  is  "the  fulfilling  of  the  law"  and 
of  the  gospel.  All  through  his  gropings  after  the  In- 
finite, man  had  been  conscious  of  the  efficacy  of  ma- 
terial objects  in  producing  spiritual  states.  In  animism 
and  fetishism,  in  the  gradually  advancing  ideas  of  Mana 
and  taboo,  he  had  adumbrated  the  sacramental  system  of 

[  143  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  Church,  and  had  set  forth  that  which  is  the  kernel 
of  all  sacramental  teaching — ^that  in  the  due  use  of  ma- 
terial aids  and  symbols,  such  as  the  Church  calls  "means 
of  grace"  and  "sacraments,"  is  to  be  sought  and  found 
the  power  to  live  ethically,  which  is  otherwise  wanting. 
Thus  we  have  given  us  the  triune  God  of  the  Christian 
faith,  at  once  immanent  and  transcendent — ^the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Understood  in  this  way,  from  a  twentieth  century 
standpoint,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  as  it  is  called,  to  which 
alone  the  lay  Christian  is  pledged,  still  expresses,  with- 
out pressing  literally  the  details  of  its  every  clause,  the 
best  belief  of  the  highest,  that  is  to  say,  the  spiritual 
man;  and  by  means  of  the  grace  that  iBows  through 
sacramental  channels  from  the  Holy  Spirit  we  are  made 
one  with  the  Christ,  and  receive  power  to  love  and  serve 
the  Father  and  our  brethren  of  mankind,  that  is,  to 
practise,  however  feebly,  the  great  injunction,  and  thus 
to  lend  our  finite  efforts  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  eter- 
nal purpose  of  the  infinite  God  from  whom  we  come 
and  to  whom  we  tend. 


[144] 


BARON  AVEBURY  (SIR  JOHN  LUBBOCK), 
P.C.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.>  D.L. 

Late  banker,  head  of  Robarts,  Lubbock  &  Co.;  commander 
of  the  Legion  of  Honour;  German  Ordre  pour  le  Merite; 
president  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Sociological  So- 
ciety, and  Royal  Microscopical  Society;  foreign  secretary 
of  the  Royal  Academy;  born  in  London,  AprilSO,  1834; 
died  May  28,  1913;  educated  at  Eton  and  home;  member 
of  Parliament  for  Maidstone,  1870-80;  University  of  Lon- 
don, 1880-1900;  has  been  at  various  times  president, 
chairman,  and  secretary  of  many  scientific  and  bankers' 
societies;  author  of  The  Use  of  Life;  The  Beauties  of 
Nature;  The  Pleasures  of  Life  (Parts  I  and  II)  ;  Scientific 
Lectures;  Addresses,  Political  and  Educational;  Fifty 
Years  of  Science  (British  Association) ;  British  Wild 
Flowers,  Considered  in  Relation  to  Insects;  Flowers, 
Fruits  and  Leaves;  The  Origin  and  Metamorphoses  of 
Insects;  On  Seedlings  (2  vols.) ;  Ants,  Bees,  and  Wasps j 
On  the  Senses,  Instincts  and  Intelligence  of  Animals; 
Chapters  in  Popular  Natural  History;  Prehistoric  Times; 
The  Origin  of  Civilisation  and  the  Primitive  Condition  of 
Man;  On  Representation;  The  Scenery  of  Switzerland; 
The  Scenery  of  England;  Coins  and  Currency;  Essays  and 
Addresses;  Free  Trade;  On  Municipal  and  National  Trad" 
ing;  On  Peace  and  Happiness, 

The  Church  of  England  seems  to  me  to  fulfil  closely 
the  conditions  formulated  by  President  Lincoln. 

The  "complicated  statements"  comprised  in  the 
creeds  and  the  articles,  are  as  I  understand  the  con- 
clusions adopted  by  the  learned  theologians  of  the  Eng- 
lish Church,  but  are  not  imposed  as  binding  on,  or  neces- 
sarily subscribed  to,  by  the  laity. 

They  are  deduced  from,  and  not  categorically  taught 
in  the  gospels,  and  Christianity,  as  I  understand  it,  rests 
not  on  dogma,  but  on  the  spirit  of  Christ's  teaching. 

[145] 


WILLIAM  GAY  BALLANTIISTE,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

SPRINGFIELD^   MASS. 

Professor  of  the  Bible,  International  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  College,  Springfield,  Mass.,  since  1897; 
born  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  7,  1848;  was  educated  at 
Marietta  College,  1868,  and  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
New  York,  1872;  studied  at  the  University  of  Leipsic, 
1872-73;  received  his  D.D.  degree  from  Marietta  College 
and  LL.D.  from  Western  Reserve  University;  member 
of  the  American  Palestine  Exploring  Expedition,  1873; 
professor  of  chemistry  and  natural  science,  Ripon  Col- 
lege, 1874-76;  assistant  professor  of  Greek,  Indiana  Uni- 
versity, 1876-78;  professor  of  Greek  and  Hebrew,  1878- 
81 ;  professor  of  Old  Testament  language  and  literature, 
Oberlin  Theological  Seminary,  1881-91 ;  president  of  Ober- 
lin  College,  1891-96;  author  of  Inductive  Logic. 

Only  yesterday  (May  9,  1913)  an  earnest  but  per- 
plexed young  man  sought  my  counsel.  He  is  about  to 
join  a  church  with  whose  life  and  work  he  is  in  hearty 
accord.  But  now  he  finds  that  in  joining  he  must  give 
assent  to  a  long  theological  creed.  He  does  not  under- 
stand it,  and  he  suspects  that  if  he  did  understand  it  he 
could  not  believe  it.  Still  he  must  assent  to  it  or  be 
excluded.  This  young  man  represents  a  large  class  to 
whom  the  Church  does  a  cruel  wrong  on  the  very  thresh- 
old of  their  Christian  lives. 

I  am  one  of  those  who  are  longing  for  the  time  when 
the  churches  shall  realize  Abraham  Lincoln's  ideal. 


[146] 


JAMES   LEVI   BARTON,   D.D., 

BOSTON,   MASS. 

Foreign  secretary  of  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions  since  1894;  born  at  Charlotte, 
Vt.,  Sept.  23,  1855;  educated  at  Middlebury  College  and 
Hartford  Theological  Seminary;  ordained  a  Congrega- 
tional minister  in  1885;  missionary  of  the  A.B.C.F.M.  at 
Harpoot,  Turkey,  1885-92;  professor  in  Mission  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  1888-92;  president  of  Euphrates  Col- 
lege, Harpoot,  1893;  member  of  a  deputation  to  Japan, 
1895,  Ceylon  and  India,  1901,  China,  1907;  author  of 
The  Missionary  and  His  Critics;  The  Unfinished  Task 
of  the  Christian  Church;  Daybreak  in  Turkey;  Human 
Progress  through  Missions;  etc. 

WHAT    SHOULD    CONSTITUTE    A    PROPER    CREED 
FOR    A    CHURCH? 

Content  :  The  creeds  of  Christendom  are  for  the  most 
part  guide-posts  to  the  ancient  battle-fields  of  the 
Church.  They  have  been  framed  to  defend  one  side 
of  a  controversy  over  against  other  creeds  that  cham- 
pioned the  opposite  side.  They  have  not  claimed  to  set 
forth  all  the  truths  of  Christianity  but  have  made  only 
such  declarations  as  their  writers  deemed  essential  in 
view  of  the  theological  discussions  of  the  place  and  age 
in  which  they  were  written. 

Purpose :  The  historic  creeds  were  prepared  to  make 
it  difficult  for  people  to  get  into  the  Church,  in  fact  to 
keep  them  out.  Creeds  were  intended  to  be  barriers  to 
divide  the  orthodox  from  the  unorthodox,  the  sheep 
from  the  goats,  each  new  creed  providing  for  a  new 
process  of  exclusion.  The  creed  was  the  shibboleth  by 
the  use  of  which  final  tests  were  made. 

[147] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

I  see  no  reason  why  a  Christian  of  this  twentieth  cen- 
tury should  be  expected  to  take  sides  upon  theo- 
logical controversies  that  have  been  buried  for  genera- 
tions, and  maybe  for  centuries.  These  creeds  are  of 
rare  historical  interest  as  marking  the  road  by  which 
the  Church  has  traveled,  but  they  can  have  little  or  no 
vital  interest  to  one  who  is  eagerly  seeking  after  God 
and  who  is  conscious  of  a  longing  to  be  like  Jesus  Christ. 

I  would  eliminate  the  elaborate  creeds  of  historic 
controversy  as  tests  and  demand  for  church  membership 
but  the  simplest  statement  of  purpose  in  the  spirit  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  love  God  and  man  and  serve  both  with 
soul,  might,  and  strength. 

It  is  hardly  reasonable  to  demand  of  new  converts 
assent  to  a  creed  over  which  theological  experts  sharply 
differ,  and  which  none  are  able  to  explain  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all. 

Practical  Theology  of  the  Church:  I  am  confident 
that  the  fundamental  and  practical  theology  of  the 
Church  will  increasingly  become  stripped  of  those  fea- 
tures which  have  led  to  controversy  in  the  past,  and  that 
it  will  put  on  that  which  in  all  ages  and  countries  has 
been  acknowledged  to  be  vital  to  the  Christian  life.  It 
is  trite  to  say  that  no  true  science  or  philosophy  can  con- 
flict with  true  religion.  If  they  seem  so  to  do,  a  restate- 
ment is  imperative,  possibly  for  both.  If  divine  revela- 
tion and  science  and  philosophy  seem  to  conflict,  the 
difficulty  is  in  the  expression  and  not  in  the  substance 
back  of  the  expression.  A  Christian  should  no  more 
fear  a  restatement  of  religious  belief  than  a  scientist 
should  deprecate  the  introduction  of  new  scientific  for- 
mulae and  nomenclature.  The  more  simple  and  prac- 
tical the  expression  of  our  fundamental  religious  be- 

[148] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

liefs  as  applied  to  life  and  to  the  Church,  the  less  diffi- 
culty shall  we  experience  when  new  conditions  require 
new  declarations  of  purpose  and  new  methods  of  ap- 
plication. 

The  underlying  theology  of  the  Church  should  be 
broad  in  its  conception,  fundamental  in  its  character, 
and  adapted  to  meet  the  requirements  of  its  member- 
ship and  the  community  in  which  it  is  placed  and  to 
which  it  is  privileged  to  minister. 

We  should  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  the- 
ology of  the  Church  exists  not  for  the  sake  of  the 
Church,  but  that  the  multitudes  outside  may  be  brought 
within  its  influence  and  fired  with  its  self-sacrificing  de- 
votion. It  must  be  light  and  produce  it :  it  must  reach 
life  and  create  it. 


[149] 


JOSEPH   AGAR    BEET,   D.D., 

RICHMOND,  ENGLAND 

Theological  writer  and  lecturer;  born  at  Sheffield,  Sept. 
27,  1840;  educated  at  Wesley  College,  Sheffield,  and 
Wesleyan  College,  Richmond;  theological  tutor,  Wesleyan 
College,  1885-1905;  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
faculty  of  theology.  University  of  London;  Fernley  lec- 
turer, 1889;  lecturer  at  University  of  Chicago  and  at 
Chautauqua  and  Ocean  Grove  (U.  S.  A.)  Summer  Schools, 
1896;  author  of  Commentaries  on  St.  Paul's  Epistles;  Cre- 
dentials of  the  Gospel;  Through  Christ  to  God;  The  New 
Life  in  Christ;  The  Last  Things;  The  Immortality  of 
the  Soul;  A  Manual  of  Theology;  Church,  Churches,  and 
Sacraments;  Shorter  Manual  of  Theology;  The  New  Tes- 
tament, its  Authorship,  Date  and  Worth;  Holiness,  Sym- 
bolic and  Real;  The  Old  Testament,  its  Contents,  Truth, 
and  Worth. 

CONDITION   OF   CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

It  seems  to  me  in  the  last  degree  inexpedient  to  im- 
pose, as  a  condition  of  private  membership  in  any  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church,  any  expression  of  theological 
belief.  To  ask  for  such  expression,  is  to  ask  candidates 
to  accept  and  profess  a  belief  touching  sacred  mysteries 
for  which,  with  few  exceptions,  they  have  no  adequate 
rational  grounds :  a  most  unwholesome  intellectual  disci- 
pline. The  Church  is  the  school  of  Christ.  Its  doors 
should  be  open,  with  all  privileges,  to  all  who  desire  en- 
trance, except  to  such  as  prove  by  their  disobedience 
that  they  refuse  to  bow  to  his  authority.  Once  within, 
we  must  give  them,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  the  mes- 
sage of  Christ  as  we  understand  it. 

With  those  who  seek  admission  to  the  pastorate  the 
case  is  different.     For  harmonious  cooperation  there 

[150] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

must  be  substantial  agreement.  But  even  here  subscrip- 
tion to  written  forms  does  little  to  secure  unanimity. 
For  each  one  will  interpret  the  form,  with  great  latitude, 
to  include  his  own  belief.  In  every  case,  the  formula  of 
subscription  ought  not  to  go  beyond  the  intelligent  con- 
viction of  a  majority  of  the  associates.  Every  one  who 
seeks  office  as  a  teacher  in  a  Christian  community  should 
with  great  frankness  state,  when  asked,  his  theological 
opinions.    Others  will  then  judge  of  his  fitness. 

Creeds  and  other  formulated  statements  of  doctrine 
are  valuable  as  easily  accessible  records  of  Christian 
thought;  and  as  permanent  embodiments  of  the  wisdom 
of  days  gone  by.  But  they  are  very  uncertain  as  foun- 
dations of  faith,  which  can  rest  securely  only  on  de- 
cisive historical  evidence  and  on  careful  consecutive 
study  of  the  sacred  records.  Before  this  supreme  tribu- 
nal all  creeds  and  Christian  beliefs  must  be  judged. 

Our  safety  lies  in  the  comparative  unanimity  of  all 
Christian  Churches  on  all  those  matters  which  bear  most 
closely  on  the  inner  and  outer  life  of  men  and  women. 
In  nearly  all  these  we  find  the  same  essential  faith.  The 
differences  have  arisen  chiefly  from  unwarranted  addi- 
tions to  these  broad  fundamental  principles.  This  unan- 
imity finds  expression  in  the  abundant  and  various  pop- 
ular religious  literature  of  our  day,  and  especially  in 
religious  hjrmns.  On  the  other  hand,  in  some  churches 
and  in  some  preachers  of  the  same  church,  certain  im- 
portant elements  of  the  gospel  have  been  more,  and 
others  less,  prominent.  The  more  carefully  our  preach- 
ing is  kept  within  the  broad  unanimity  of  the  various 
sacred  writers  and  the  more  completely  we  reproduce 
that  unanimity,  the  nearer  shall  we  come  together. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  chief  reason  why  so  many 

[151] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

refuse  to  join  one  of  the  various  sections  of  the  Church 
is  not  theological,  but  an  unwillingness  to  undertake  the 
responsibilities  involved  in  membership.  They  loiter 
outside  the  temple  of  God,  leaving  to  others  the  toil 
and  cost  of  building  and  the  nearer  presence  of  the 
great  Architect  which  this  fellowship  in  sacred  work  im- 
parts; thus  forfeiting  the  worker's  joy  in  the  eternal 
contemplation  in  the  city  of  God  of  the  abiding  results 
of  his  own  toil. 


[152] 


ARTHUR   CHRISTOPHER   BENSON, 
F.R.Hist.S.,   F.R.S.L., 

CAMBRIDGE^  ENGLAND 

President  and  fellow  of  Magdalene  College,  Cambridge; 
born  April  24,  1862;  educated  at  Eton  and  King's  Col- 
lege, Cambridge;  master  at  Eton  College,  1885-1903; 
commander  of  the  Royal  Victorian  Order,  1907;  Fellow, 
Vice-President  and  Professor  of  English  Fiction  in  the 
Royal  Society  of  Literature;  member  of  the  Court  of  the 
Fishmonger's  Company;  author  of  Memoirs  of  Arthur 
Hamilton;  Archbishop  Laud:  a  Study;  Men  of  Might 
(with  H.  F.  W.  Tatham) ;  Poems;  Essays;  Lord  Vyet  and 
other  Poems;  Life  of  Archbishop  Benson;  The  Professor 
and  other  Poems;  The  Schoolmaster;  The  House  of  Quiet; 
Tennyson;  Selections  from  Whittier;  The  Hill  of  Trou- 
ble; The  Isles  of  Sunset;  Rossetti;  Edward  Fitzgerald; 
The  Upton  Letters;  Walter  Pater;  The  Gate  of  Death; 
The  Altar  Fire;  Selections  from  the  Correspondence  of 
Queen  Victoria  (with  Viscount  Esher) ;  Collected  Poems; 
The  Silent  Isle;  Ruskin:  a  Study  in  Personality;  The 
Leaves  of  the  Tree;  Thy  Rod  and  Thy  Staff, 

1.  I  THINK  that  the  scientific  spirit,  by  reducing  su- 
perstition, has  tended  to  emphasize  anti-denominational- 
ism.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  are  increasing  numbers 
of  intelligent  people  who  dislike  affirming  abnormal 
things,  the  evidence  for  which  they  cannot  test,  who 
shrink  from  accepting,  as  historical,  statements  which  do 
not  stand  on  a  verifiable  basis,  and  are  reluctant  to  gen- 
eralize upon  insufficient  or  incomplete  data. 

This  feeling  militates  strongly  against  detailed 
creeds  and  pseudo-scientific  theology. 

2.  I  am  inclined  myself  to  look  forward  to  the  sort 
of  expression  of  religion  of  which  George  Tyrrell 
speaks.  I  cannot  quote  his  exact  words,  but  he  said 
that  he  thought  the  religion  of  the  future  would  be  a 

[153] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

belief  in  the  fatherhood  of  God,  and  an  active  charity, 
with  the  sacraments  as  a  symbol  of  strength  and  unity. 
And  this,  in  my  personal  judgment,  was  what  the  gospel 
essentially  aimed  at. 

3.  The  really  difficult  things  will  be,  I  believe,  to 
reconcile  religion,  which  in  its  mystical  form  is  an  es- 
sentially individualistic  emotion,  with  the  growing  in- 
stinct in  favor  of  social  cooperation.  But  denomina- 
tionalism  seems  to  me  to  be  the  foe  both  of  individualism 
and  of  social  cooperation. 


[154] 


AMY  GASTON    CHARLES   AUGUSTE 
BONET-MAURY,   D.D.,   LL.D., 

PARIS,   FRANCE 

Professor  of  church  history  at  the  Protestant  School  of 
Divinity  of  Paris;  born  at  Paris,  Jan.  2,  1842;  educated  at 
the  Lycee  Henry  IV  and  the  Sorbonne,  Paris,  and  at  the 
universities  of  Geneva  and  Strasburg;  pastor  of  the  Wal- 
loon Reformed  Church  at  Dort,  1868-72,  and  the  French 
Reformed  Church  at  Beauvais,  1872-79;  lecturer  in  church 
history  at  the  Protestant  School  of  Divinity  of  Paris,  since 
1879;  librarian  of  the  Musee  Pedagogique,  1885-89;  au- 
thor of  Les  Origines  de  la  re  forme  a  Beauvais;  Gerard  de 
Groote,  un  precurseur  de  la  reforme  au  quatorzieme  Steele; 
Des  Origines  du  christianisme  unitaire  chez  les  Anglais; 
Arnauld  de  Brescia,  un  reformateur  au  douzieme  siecle;  De 
opera  scholastica  fratrum  vitce  communis  in  Nederlandia; 
Ignace  Doellinger;  Le  Congres  des  religions  a  Chicago  en 
1893;  Histoire  de  la  liberie  de  conscience  depuis  I'Edit  de 
Nantes  jusqu'a  juillet  1870;  Les  Precurseurs  de  la  reforme 
et  de  la  liberie  de  conscience  dans  les  pays  latins  du  dou- 
zieme au  quinzieme  siecle;  Edgar  Quinei,  son  ceuvre  reli- 
gieuse  et  son  charactere  moral;  Ulslamisme  et  le  chris- 
tianisme en  Afrique;  France,  christianisme  et  civilisation; 
Unite  morale  des  religions. 

You  have  done  me  the  honor  of  consulting  me  on  three 
questions  which  interest  Christianity  and  homiletics 
particularly.    Here  is  my  reply  summarized: 

1.  Why  is  it  that  so  many  persons  are  indifferent  to 
the  appeals  of  the  Church?  For  reasons  best  known  to 
themselves  thousands  upon  thousands  of  persons  re- 
fuse to  become  identified  with  the  Church  in  any  of  its 
numerous  denominations. 

Answer. — The  chief  cause  is  the  decline,  and  even  the 
death,  of  all  faith,  resulting  from  an  excess  of  material 
pleasures  and  glorification  of  the  natural  and  physical 

[155] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

sciences  and  of  their  application  to  the  general  welfare, 
or  to  the  laborious  acquisition  of  wealth  to  the  detriment 
of  the  fostering  of  the  ideal.  Another  cause  among  the 
poorer  class  is  poverty.  They  are  ashamed  to  enter  the 
churches  in  clothing  that  is  ragged  or  out  of  date. 
Among  others  it  is  avarice ;  the  fear  of  having  to  pay  for 
the  support  of  the  cult  and  its  clergy.  But,  among  a 
large  number  of  prosperous  educated  people  it  is  due 
to  the  repugnance  of  a  conscience  free  and  reflecting  to 
allow  itself  to  be  shackled  by  a  dogmatic  creed,  written 
by  theologians  centuries  ago,  and  which  scarcely  agrees 
with  the  present  condition  of  biblical  science  and  modern 
belief.  One  understands,  therefrom,  why  very  religious 
men,  and  Christians  like  Abraham  Lincoln  (in  Amer- 
ica), Ernest  Naville  (at  Geneva),  and  Frederic  Passy 
(in  Paris)  would  not  join  any  particular  church. 

2.  Is  it  true  that  this  experience  is  typical  of  thou- 
sands of  others?  Do  you  think  it  wise  to  ask  the  great 
majority  of  people  to  subscribe  to  statements  that  deal 
with  debated  or  controversial  questions?  Or  do  you 
think  the  Church  should  limit  itself  to  a  declaration 
that  seeks  a  common  purpose  of  love  and  service  to  God 
and  man?  Or  else  should  it  not  exact  as  a  condition  of 
membership  in  the  Church  the  summary  of  the  law? 

Answer. — I  think  that  the  spiritual  condition  of  Lin- 
coln, Naville,  and  Passy  is  shared  by  hundreds  of  free- 
thinkers, but  that  the  summary  of  the  law  is  rather  a 
resume  of  moral  life  than  a  religious  symbol.  From  my 
point  of  view  such  a  symbol  should  be  based  on  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  arid  also  be  connected  with  the  great  Chris- 
tian traditions,  and  at  the  same  time  be  sufficiently  broad 
to  allow  full  latitude  to  individual  conceptions.  The 
declaration  of  the  principles  adopted  by  the  Reformed 

[156] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Church  of  the  "Oratoire"  of  the  Louvre  (Paris)  seems 
to  me  to  answer  this  double  condition  and  may  be  cited 
as  a  model.  Here  it  is :  "The  Reformed  Church  of  the 
Oratoire  makes  its  appeal  to  all  who  desire  to  realize  the 
Christian  ideal  of  a  fraternal  church.  Its  members  re- 
gard each  other  as  brothers,  even  though  theological 
differences  exist  among  them.  In  communion  with  the 
holy  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament, 
and  with  the  different  symbols  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  France,  they  profess  the  union  of  hearts,  mutual  re- 
spect, and  complete  loyalty  in  the  entire  Christian  lib- 
erty. They  affirm  with  joy  their  common  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  disciples,  concerning  whom  they  find  the 
substance  in  the  following  words  of  the  divine  Master: 
John  3:  16;  John  17:  3;  John  11:  25;  Luke  19:  10; 
John  3:3;  Matt.  22:  37;  John  4:  24." 

3.  What  fundamental  basis  for  Christian  theology 
may  claim  to  be  in  harmony  with  modern  philosophical 
thought? 

Answer. — To  my  mind  the  sole  foundation  that  can 
be  cited  is  the  personality  and  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ 
such  as  may  be  drawn  from  the  gospels  and  the  epistles 
of  the  apostles.  Jesus  being  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life,  it  is  he  who  is  the  teacher  who  must  bring 
us  to  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  ourselves;  make  us 
conscious  of  our  sins  and  point  us  to  salvation,  and 
instil  in  us  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  be  enlightened. 
Beyond  this,  all  is  vanity.  By  the  cross  and  faith  in 
Jesus  we  can  conquer  death  in  all  its  forms. 


CIST] 


ARTHUR    ELMORE    BOSTWICK,    Ph.D., 

ST.   LOUIS,   MO. 

Librarian  of  St.  Louis  Public  Library  since  IQOQ;  born 
Litchfield,  Conn.,  March  8,  I860;  graduated  Yale  Uni- 
versity, 1881;  Ph.D.,  1883;  substitute  instructor  and  proc- 
tor, 1883-84;  teacher  high  school,  Montclair,  N.  J.,  1884)- 
86;  on  staff  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Biogra- 
phy, 1886-88;  literary  work,  1888-90;  assistant  editor  of 
The  Forum,  1890-92;  associate  editor  Standard  Diction- 
ary and  office  expert  in  physics,  1892-94;  chief  librarian 
New  York  Free  Circulating  Library,  1895-97;  librarian 
Brooklyn  Public  Library,  1899-1901;  chief  of  circulation 
department.  New  York  Public  Library,  1901-9;  editor  of 
science  department  of  The  Literary  Digest  since  1891; 
author  of  Young  Folks*  Cyclopedia  of  Games  and  Sports; 
The  American  Public  Library;  The  Different  West, 

It  seems  to  me  desirable  not  only  that  some  statement 
shall  be  formulated  that  can  be  subscribed  to  by  all 
Christians,  but  also  that  some  such  statement  be  put 
into  words  capable  of  being  approved  by  faithful  ad- 
herents of  all  religions,  or  even  by  those  who  love  and 
follow  righteousness,  apart  from  religious  ties.  Simple 
as  this  may  seem,  I  do  not  believe  that  we  yet  have  the 
data  to  do  it.  What  we  need  is  a  survey  of  the  beliefs 
and  practises  of  all  religious  bodies.  Such  a  catalogue, 
with  the  data  placed  in  parallel  columns  and  properly 
checked  up,  would  enable  us  to  answer  such  questions 
as:  "What  is  the  most  comprehensive  statement  of  be- 
lief to  which  all  Protestants  would  be  willing  to  sub- 
scribe? All  Christians?  All  who  believe  in  one  God? 
All  who  recognize  some  supernatural  power?" 

Not  until  we  have  a  survey  enabling  such  questions 
to  be  answered  can  we  take  the  first  step  toward  Chris- 

[158] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tian  unity.  Unity  should  not  mean  compelling  every 
one  to  subscribe  to  a  creed,  however  simple;  nor  should 
it  involve  forcing  any  one  to  abandon  a  creed,  however 
involved.  Rather  should  its  object  be  to  ascertain  what 
certain  bodies  believe  in  conmion  and  to  overcome  their 
reluctance  to  recognize  and  act  upon  this  conmiimity  of 
belief. 


[1593 


JOHN   WRIGHT   BUCKHAM,   D.D., 

BEEKELEY^   CAL. 

Professor  of  Christian  theology.  Pacific  Theological  Sem- 
inary, Berkeley,  Cal.,  since  1903;  born  at  Burlington,  Vt., 
Nov.  5,  1864;  graduated  from  University  of  Vermont, 
1885;  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  1888;  ordained  to 
the  Congregational  ministry,  1888;  pastor  at  Conway, 
N.  H.,  1888-90;  Salem,  Mass.,  1890-1903;  author  of 
Whence  Cometh  Help;  Christ  and  the  Eternal  Order; 
Personality  and  the  Christian  Ideal, 

I  WELCOME  the  opportunity  to  express  the  conviction, 
— which  I  expect  to  find  in  accord  with  that  of  most  of 
your  respondents, — ^that  a  doctrinal  test  of  membership 
is  wholly  out  of  accord  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of 
the  gospel.  A  simple  form  of  allegiance  to  Christ  and 
of  an  earnest  purpose  to  help  to  bring  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  is,  I  think,  all  that  should  be  sought.  President 
Lincoln's  statement,  beautiful  and  appropriate  as  it  is, 
fails  to  indicate  that  the  God  whom  we  as  Christians 
reverence  and  love  is  revealed  to  us  in  Jesus  Christ.  I 
would  not  wish  to  see  in  such  a  statement  as  I  have  in- 
dicated, any  definition  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  only  a  recog- 
nition of  him  as  vitally  related  to  our  religious  life. 
The  Apostles'  Creed,  while,  as  a  venerable  historic  ex- 
pression of  Christian  faith,  it  may  be  of  value  ritually,  is 
not  adapted,  it  seems  to  me,  to  serve  as  a  formula  for 
introduction  to  church  membership. 

As  to  the  "basis  and  direction  for  a  fundamental 
theology  of  the  Church,"  I  hold, — as  is  now  so  gen- 
erally held, — that  it  should  be  based  upon  Christian 
experience.  By  Christian  experience  I  do  not  mean 
simply  a  definite  and  describable  conversion,  but  the 

[160] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

total  response  to  spiritual  reality, — a  consciousness  of 
moral  and  religious  values  that  calls  for  expression  and 
interpretation.  The  need  of  the  rational  interpretation 
of  religion  inevitably  leads  to  a  theology, — a  theology 
which  should  take  the  direction  of  reverent,  vital,  un- 
dogmatic  explication  of  the  content  and  implicates  of 
religious  experience. 

This  involves,  necessarily,  the  enriching  and  enlarg- 
ing contact  of  theology  with  literature,  science  and 
philosophy.  It  requires  that  theology  recognize  the 
validity  of  experiment,  investigation  and  hypothesis  in 
science,  of  introspection,  and  analysis  in  psychology,  and 
of  criticism  and  deduction  in  the  realm  of  philosophy. 
At  the  sanie  time  theology  has  a  perfect  right  to  demand 
the  recognition  of  its  own  province  on  the  part  of  science 
and  philosophy.  Furthermore,  in  the  adjustment  of 
values,  I  do  not  see  how  theology  can  hold  anything  less 
than  that  religious  values,  so  far  as  they  can  be  distin- 
guished (they  cannot  be  separated)  from  other  values, 
are  fundamental  and  ultimate. 

Upon  some  such  basis  as  this,  I  expect  to  see  the- 
ology gradually  recovering,  in  general  human  esteem 
and  interest,  the  strength  and  honor  which,  through  its 
own  dogmatism  and  obscurantism,  it  has  so  largely  lost. 


[1613 


SAMUEL   PARKES    CADMAN,   D.D„ 

BROOKLYN^   N.   Y. 

Pastor  of  the  Central  Congregational  Church,  Brooklyn, 
since  IQOO;  born  at  Wellington,  Shropshire,  England,  Dec. 
18,  1864;  graduated  from  Richmond  College  (University 
of  London)  in  theology  and  classics,  1889;  ordained  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  ministry,  1895;  pastor  of  the 
Metropolitan  Temple,  New  York,  1895-1900;  trustee  of 
Adelphi  College,  Brooklyn,  and  the  Brooklyn  Institute  of 
Arts  and  Sciences;  author  of  Charles  Darwin  and  Other 
English  Thinkers;  The  Three  Great  Oxford  Movements, 

I  HAVE  often  pondered  the  words  of  President  Lincoln, 
both  for  their  own  sake  and  because  of  the  very  great 
man  who  gave  them  utterance.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
he  expressed  the  experience  of  a  large  number  who  have 
hesitated  or  refused  to  join  the  Church  of  Christ,  nor 
do  I  think  it  wise  to  ask  candidates  for  membership 
therein  to  discuss  or  accept  formulated  statements  of 
doctrine  upon  which  even  theologians  themselves  do  not 
agree.  The  more  simple  and  comprehensive  the  con- 
ditions of  church  membership  are,  the  better,  for  every 
one  concerned.  At  the  same  time  the  fundamental  the- 
ology of  the  New  Testament,  which  should  also  be  that 
of  the  Christian  Church,  deals  with  the  primary  ques- 
tion, "How  can  a  man  be  just  before  God?"  It  solves 
the  long  standing  problem  as  to  how  we  are  made  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature  and  heirs  of  the  eternal  life 
and  glory.  The  incarnation,  personality,  teaching,  work, 
death  and  risen  life  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  are  the  very  essence  of  the  faith  of  Christianity. 
The  text  you  quote,  and  which  our  Lord  himself  quoted, 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart 

[162] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  is  of  the  fruit  rather  than  of  the 
roots  of  Christian  faith.  It  is  an  effect  arising  out  of  a 
cause  which  must  first  be  secured  in  the  regeneration 
of  man's  nature.  Unless  men  are  "born  from  above" 
they  cannot  do  this,  and  what  we  have  to  seek  in  Chris- 
tian thought  and  preaching  is  that  vital  relation  with 
God  in  Christ  which  makes  such  ideals  possible  and 
enables  men  to  realize  them. 

So  far  as  literary,  scientific  and  philosophical  cer- 
tainties are  concerned,  a  true  theology  is  in  perfect 
accord  with  all  such  certainties.  Literature  is  an  agency 
for  the  inspiration  and  enlargement  of  human  life  with 
which  no  right-minded  believer  in  Christian  doctrines 
would  seek  to  interfere  for  a  moment.  Science  is  su- 
preme in  its  own  realm,  deals  with  the  evidence  of  the 
senses,  uses  the  inductive  method,  practises  experimenta- 
tion and  hypothesis,  seeks  proof  in  demonstration.  Be- 
yond this  realm  science  is  impotent  and  has  nothing  to 
say  upon  the  deeper  questions  which  will  not  submit 
themselves  to  such  methods  and  proofs.  Nor  has  true 
science  anything  to  say  of  authority  relative  to  the  mat- 
ters with  which  theology  deals. 

Philosophy  is  the  proposal  to  unify  all  our  knowl- 
edge under  the  control  of  certain  great  principles,  and 
is,  therefore,  more  akin  to  theology  than  science  could 
possibly  be. 

In  reply  to  another  question  of  yours,  theology  is 
unassailable  when  it  keeps  to  its  own  dominion,  and  this 
is  equally  true  of  other  branches  of  research  and  knowl- 
edge. All,  however,  are  summed  up  in  the  total  value 
of  truth  which  must  be  divine,  and  intended  for  the  sanc- 
tification  of  human  life  and  the  accomplishment  of  its 

[163] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

highest  purposes.  I  have  a  strong  belief  that  whatever 
is  purely  religious  is  finally  reasonable,  and  that  for 
Christian  thinkers  to  desert  any  realm  of  knowledge  or 
try  to  defeat  its  legitimate  aspirations  is  a  surrender  to 
the  enemy,  and  a  surrender  of  the  worst  description.  A 
living  faith  in  God  which  finds  its  divine-human  cen- 
ter in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  firmly  fixed  there,  is 
free  to  operate  elsewhere  for  the  good  of  that  center,  will 
in  my  judgment,  prove  victorious.  Indeed  it  has  already 
won  such  triumphs  as  to  give  certitude  to  this  affirma- 
tion. 


[164] 


THE  REV.  HENRY  W.   CLARK,  M.A., 

CHAEISMA,    HAEPENDEN^    ENGLAND 

Has  been  engaged  in  literature  since  1904;  born  in  Lon- 
don, Feb.  8,  1869;  educated  at  the  University  College 
School,  private  study  in  Germany,  and  at  Hackney  Theo- 
logical College;  minister  of  the  George  Square  Church, 
Greenock,  Scotland,  1890-91,  and  of  Congregational 
Church,  Woking,  1899-1904;  author  of  Meanings  and 
Methods  of  the  Spiritual  Life;  Echoes  from  the  Heights 
and  Deeps  (poems) ;  The  Christ  from  Without  and  With- 
in; The  Philosophy  of  Christian  Experience;  The  Gospel 
of  St.  John  (Westminster  New  Testament) ;  The  Chris- 
tian  Method  of  Ethics;  Laws  of  the  Inner  Kingdom; 
Studies  in  the  Making  of  Character;  History  of  English 
Nonconformity;  The  Book  of  the  Seven  Ages, 

In  attempting  a  reply  to  the  questions  submitted,  I 
must  confess,  as  a  preliminary,  to  some  doubt  whether 
the  difficulty  of  accepting  the  Church's  creeds  is  as 
powerful  an  influence  in  withholding  people  from  mem- 
bership or  adherence  as  is  sometimes  supposed.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  greater  number  of  churches  do  not  re- 
quire acceptance  of  any  elaborate  doctrinal  system  as  a 
condition  of  membership ;  and  a  sort  of  general  admira- 
tion of  the  Christian  spirit  is  almost  the  sum  total  of 
what  (whether  rightly  or  wrongly)  is  called  for.  Cer- 
tainly the  demand  for  acceptance  of  complicated  doc- 
trinal propositions  becomes  less  and  less  insistent  with 
each  passing  year.  The  idea  that  the  Christian  Church 
imposes  on  its  votaries  a  set  of  doctrinal  articles  which 
can  only  be  accepted  by  an  act  of  pure  credence  and 
which  cannot  be  vindicated  to  active  or  critical  thought 
— ^that  idea  serves,  no  doubt,  as  an  excuse  to  a  good 
many  for  remaining  outside.    But  they  who  put  in  that 

[165] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

plea  are  very  much  behind  the  times.  For  the  main 
question  which  most  churches  set  before  themselves  just 
now  would  seem  to  be  a  question  as  to  how  little  definite 
creed  they  can  go  on  with — and  some  of  them  contrive  to 
make  it  very  little  indeed. 

Nevertheless,  the  whole  matter  of  insistence  on  doc- 
trinal standards  merits  inquiry.  And  if  the  absentees 
are  mistaken  in  alleging  such  insistence  as  a  sufficient 
reason  for  their  abstention,  it  is  well  for  the  Christian 
Church  to  make  plain  what  its  attitude  really  is.  And 
perhaps  one  might  add  that  the  Church  fails  to  do  this 
because  in  many  instances  it  has  not  determined  for 
itself  what  its  attitude  ought  to  be. 

1.  Of  course  the  Church  must  recognize  (as  prob- 
ably the  majority  of  churches  do)  that  mere  intellectual 
acceptance  of  elaborate  creeds  is  neither  sufficient  nor 
necessary  as  a  condition  of  Christian  discipleship  or  of 
joining  the  Christian  fellowship.  It  is  not  sufficient, 
inasmuch  as  no  intellectual  acceptance  of  doctrine  can 
directly  produce  Christian  character;  it  is  not  neces- 
sary, inasmuch  as  churches  of  all  sorts  and  quantities  of 
creed  have  possessed  their  saints.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  the  Church  has  made  mistakes  on  this  line ;  and  it  is 
this  fact — the  fact  that  years  ago  the  churches  did  make, 
or  did  seem  to  make,  unquestioning  belief  of  many  mys- 
terious doctrines  a  sine  qua  non  before  applicants  were 
allowed  to  pass  the  entrance-gate,  requiring  the  said  ap- 
plicants, not  to  come  to  the  doctrines  as  an  inference 
from  an  inward  experience,  but  to  start  from  them  as  in- 
dispensable before  the  inward  experience  could  be  at- 
tained— ^it  is  this  fact  which  lends  plausibility  to  the  con- 
tention of  those  who  say  that  the  weight  of  creeds  keeps 
them  outside  the  Church  to-day.     Also,  that  certain 

[166] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

churches  still  hold  to  the  platform  from  which  the  ma- 
jority have  stepped  is  not  to  be  denied.  But  the  argu- 
ment against  making  assent  to  what  may  be  termed  the 
subtler  mysteries  of  the  "orthodox"  scheme  a  condi- 
tion of  church  membership  is  really  unanswerable.  For 
there  is  no  direct  connection  (though  there  may  cer- 
tainly be  indirect)  between  intellectual  conviction  and 
spiritual  growth.  A  sacerdotal  church — a  church  which 
claims  to  settle  all  things  for  its  adherents  and  to  minis- 
ter all  grace  to  its  adherents  through  the  persons  of  its 
priests — ^might  perhaps  make  out  a  case  for  itself  by  de- 
claring that  the  intellects,  as  well  as  the  souls,  of  its 
members,  are  under  its  complete  control.  But  in  that 
case  acceptance  of  the  imposed  creed  does  not  mean  in- 
tellectual conviction  at  all.  It  means  merely  the  move- 
ment of  the  lips  which  say  "yes."  And  such  a  church 
is  quite  outside  the  dominant  tendency  and  movement  of 
the  day.  In  general,  it  would  be  admitted  by  everybody 
— ^whatever  their  own  beliefs  may  be,  and  whether  or  not 
the  doctrines  usually  termed  "orthodox"  find  a  place  in 
their  minds — that  mere  acceptance  of  creed  cannot 
properly  be  set  up  as  the  testing  line  at  which  candidates 
for  church  membership  must  show  themselves  approved, 
that  so  to  set  it  up  is  to  inflict  hardship  on  many  sensi- 
tive souls  and  to  offend  not  a  few  of  Christ's  little  ones, 
and  that  in  so  far  as  the  Church  of  the  time  keeps  the 
old  bad  way  it  must  for  its  own  sake  and  the  world's 
put  itself  right. 

2.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  the  matter  is  put  right 
simply  by  reducing  creed  to  a  minimum,  to  a  small 
number  of  religious  and  ethical  propositions  which  the 
majority  of  people  can  easily  accept.  This  is  of  course 
the  method  adopted  by  much  "liberal  Christianity"  of 

[167] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to-day.  The  essentials  of  the  Christian  faith  are  re- 
duced to  a  few  cardinal  ideas  like  those  of  the  father- 
hood of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  the  supremacy  of 
love,  and  the  like ;  and  in  the  end  it  comes  to  this — ^that 
Christianity  really  says  no  more  than  the  general  moral 
and  spiritual  consciousness  of  mankind  either  already 
says  for  itself  or  recognizes  as  axiomatic  when  it  is 
said.  Superficially,  doubtless,  the  method  looks  plau- 
sible. Certainly  it  gets  rid  of  the  "creed"  problem  in 
a  very  eflFectual  fashion,  even  if  it  accomplishes  this  at 
the  cost  of  getting  rid  of  a  good  deal  besides.  But  what 
needs  to  be  noticed  about  it — and  the  one  thing  that 
never  is  noticed — is  the  fact  that  it  reproduces  the  old 
error,  even  though  it  be  on  a  smaller  scale.  According 
to  the  "creed  at  a  minimum"  method,  Christianity  is 
still  a  matter  of  creed,  of  ideas  (ideas  which  ought  to 
have  some  regulative  effect  upon  conduct,  of  course, 
but  ideas  none  the  less) ;  and  the  only  alteration  is  that 
the  would-be  disciple  gets  off  with  believing  little  now 
instead  of  being  called  upon  to  believe  much.  Christian- 
ity is  still  an  intellectual  scheme,  a  matter  of  accepting 
certain  doctrines,  and  is  distinctive  only  in  that  it  teaches 
the  ideas  of  which  a  simple  reading  of  Christ's  words  dis- 
cerns him — or  thinks  it  does — to  have  taught.  The 
method  harmonizes  religious  truth  with  the  average  re- 
ligious ideas  of  the  time  by  reducing  religious  truth  to 
its  lowest  possible  terms. 

This  is  what  underlies  the  current  attempts  to  rec- 
oncile religion  with  science,  to  find  a  basis  for  religion 
in  scientific  theory.  Sin  is  "falling  out  of  harmony  with 
the  order  of  the  universe."  Good  is  "that  which  pro- 
motes development."  God  is  "the  influence  immanent 
in  all  the  processes  of  the  world."    And  so  the  "reconcili- 

[168] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ation"  goes  on.  Religion  is  saved  because  it  means 
nothing  very  special  after  all.  Well,  if  this  is  the  only 
way  we  can  get  over  the  "creed"  difficulty,  so  it  must 
be.  Only  let  us  understand  what  we  are  doing.  We 
are  "reconciling"  science  and  religion  much  as  the  lion 
and  the  lamb  are  "reconciled"  when  the  lion  eats  the 
lamb.  It  needs  to  be  understood  that  if  Christianity  in 
any  distinctive  sense  is  to  be  preserved,  any  reconcilia- 
tion of  it  with  science  is  impossible  because  the  two 
things  are  on  different  planes.  You  might  as  well  talk 
of  reconciling  music  and  vegetarianism.  There  need 
be  no  hostility,  but  there  can  be  no  reconciliation.  Of 
course  religious  and  theological  methods  must  be  scien- 
tific— but  that  is  quite  another  affair.  Religious  in- 
vestigation must  proceed  as  scientific  investigation  pro- 
ceeds, with  attention  to  evidence  and  fact.  But  the  very 
obvious  distinction  between  the  properly  scientific  char- 
acter of  religious  method  and  the  impossibly  scientific 
character  of  religious  matter  is,  in  spite  of  its  obvious- 
ness, constantly  forgotten.  It  is  forgotten  that  Chris- 
tianity is  ultimately  concerned  (if  it  is  what  it  pro- 
fesses to  be) ,  not  so  much  with  actually  existing  facts  as 
with  a  creative  force  which  is  to  bring  into  being  new 
facts.  And  so  the  reconciler  gaily  goes  on  his  way.  He 
is  just  as  much  under  the  dominance  of  the  notion  that 
religion  is  an  aflFair  of  creed  as  the  most  creed-insistent 
church  has  ever  been.  But  he  saves  the  situation  by 
reducing  creed  to  its  lowest  terms — to  such  terms  as 
can  win  an  almost  unanimous  "yes"  from  the  crowd. 

Or  does  he  save  the  situation  after  all?  Does  the 
"creed  at  a  minimum"  method  achieve  its  aim?  Are  we 
really  out  of  the  wood  when  we  have  whittled  down  the 
whole  thing,  as  Abraham  Lincoln  wanted  to  whittle 

[169] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

it  down,  to  this — "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself?"  Lincoln,  by  the 
way,  was  curiously  astray  in  asserting  that  according  to 
Jesus  this  constituted  "the  substance  of  both  law  and 
gospel."  What  Jesus  said  was  that  these  were  the 
greatest  commandments  in  the  "law  and  the  prophets" 
— a  very  different  proposition.  But,  in  any  case,  the 
given  commandments  push  us  up  against  all  sorts  of 
theological  questions  which  we  may  evade  under  a  cloud 
of  words  if  we  like,  but  which  are  there  all  the  same. 
Who  and  what  is  God?  When  you  have  settled  that, 
what  will  love  appear  to  be  in  relation  to  such  a  Being? 
And,  above  all,  how  are  we  to  do  what  we  are  com- 
manded? The  method  of  "reduction"  or  "reconcilia- 
tion" really  comes  to  nothing  more,  in  the  end,  than 
the  ostrich-like  procedure  of  burying  our  heads  in  the 
desert  sand  of  words,  and  saying  that  the  capital  prob- 
lems are  not  there.  At  any  rate,  it  means  either  this, 
or  an  assertion  that  Christianity  contains  nothing  spe- 
cial to  itself.  And  in  any  case,  it  perpetuates  the  very 
error  against  which  it  protests,  and  takes  religion  to  be 
an  affair  of  creed.  It  is  merely  a  matter  of  less  rather 
than  more. 

3.  Where,  then,  does  the  real  solution  of  the  "creed" 
difficulty  lie? 

It  lies,  I  think,  in  this:  The  Christian  Church  must 
realize  afresh  that  Christianity  is  not  a  matter  of  ideas  or 
ideals  only,  but  a  matter  of  a  veritable  new  life-force 
which  came  to  the  world  in  Jesus  Christ  and  which  in 
Jesus  Christ's  constant  though  invisible  presence  abides 
in  the  world  still — ^not  a  matter  of  revelation  in  the 
sense  of  an  addition  to  knowledge  (that  is,  not  only 

[170] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE,  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

that),  but  a  matter  of  a  real  inrush  of  spiritual  life 
into  the  world  from  beyond  the  world  for  man  to  take 
by  fastening  his  own  personality  into  the  personality  of 
Jesus  Christ — ^not  a  matter  of  reading  off  facts  as  they 
exist,  but  a  matter  of  making  a  new  fact.  Christ  came 
— so  the  Church  must  declare  if  it  would  keep  clear  of 
binding  upon  men's  shoulders  credal  burdens  too  heavy 
to  be  borne  and  at  the  same  time  preserve  Christianity's 
real  distinctiveness — Christ  came,  not  to  reveal  spiritual 
realities  so  much  as  to  be  himself  a  new  spiritual  reality, 
a  new  life  able  through  all  the  ages  to  communicate  itself 
to  man  and  thus  to  produce  upon  the  human  plane  of 
things  a  type  of  life  (human  life  linked  with  and  re- 
made by  divine)  not  known  there  before.  According 
to  the  Christian  religion,  humanity's  spiritual  duties  and 
spiritual  possibilities  are  not  summed  up  in  develop- 
ment under  the  guidance  of  ideals  (which  is  all  that  the 
"creed  at  a  minimum"  theory  can  make  of  religion's 
message),  but  something  more — development  under 
the  upward  pull  of  a  creative  life  magnetizing  from 
Christ  himself  to  man.  And  it  is  the  fact  that  such  a 
creative  life  is  here  that  the  Church  must  in  the  first 
instance,  whatever  may  come  afterward,  proclaim  to 
the  world. 

"But  this  is  in  itself  a  creed" — is  it  said?  It  implies 
on  the  part  of  the  Church  and  its  ministers  a  conviction 
that  Christ  is  here  with  "life  in  himself."  Granted,  else 
of  course  the  message  could  not  be  delivered.  But  this 
one  primary  assertion — which  is  for  the  moment  the 
only  one  to  which  the  Church  need  ask  the  world  to  give 
heed — is  one  which  the  world  can  test;  and,  indeed,  it 
is  in  order  that  it  may  be  tested  that  the  Church  makes 
it.    It  constitutes,  in  fact,  an  invitation  to  men  to  test  it. 

[171] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

It  can  be  tested  as  to  its  theoretical  plausibility,  as  to 
how  far  philosophy  can  find  room  for  the  appearance  of 
such  a  new  fact  in  the  existing  sum  of  things,  as  to  how 
far  the  written  documents  of  the  New  Testament  sup- 
port it,  as  to  how  far  religious  history  confirms  it.  Of 
course  an  inquiry  of  this  sort  cannot  be  attempted  here.* 
But  the  test  as  to  philosophical  plausibility  can  be  made. 
Still  more,  the  assertion  can  be  tested,  as  an  assertion 
concerning  any  other  "force"  can  be  tested,  by  putting 
oneself  in  such  a  position  (in  this  case,  in  such  a  morial 
and  spiritual  attitude  of  receptiveness)  that  the  alleged 
force  may  produce  its  effect  if  it  is  really  there.  And, 
let  it  be  noted,  in  order  to  make  the  second  and  final 
test,  it  is  not  necessary  that  a  man  should  have  carried 
the  first  through  to  its  end.  To  test  a  dynamic,  a  man 
need  get  no  farther  than  a  hypothetical  assumption  of 
its  existence,  a  feeling  that  to  say  the  dynamic  can  be 
experienced  is  not  in  itself  absurd.  Of  course,  if  in  the 
case  of  Christianity  a  man  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
for  Christ  to  communicate  his  own  life  to  man  is  in  the 
nature  of  things  and  by  all  reasonable  philosophy  im- 
possible, there  is  no  more  to  be  said :  such  a  man  can  only 
be  left  to  make  the  most  of  the  "religion  at  a  minimum" 
idea.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  necessary,  before  a 
man  makes  trial  of  the  Church's  essential  message,  that 
he  should  be  absolutely  convinced  of  its  truth.  All  he 
needs  is  the  feeling  that  the  matter  is  worth  a  test.  And 
what  the  Church  should  call  upon  a  man  outside  the 
Church  to  do  is  not  to  believe  anything,  but  to  test  the 
one  primary  fact  or  force  in  which  the  Church  believes. 
The  Church  itself,  it  should  perhaps  be  added,  may 

*  May  I  be  allowed  to  say  that  I  have  partially  dealt  with  this  in 
The  Philosophy  of  Christian  Experience,  and  also  in  an  article  in  the 
Harvard  Theological  Review  for  July,  1911 

[172] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

be  sure  that  for  those  who  make  the  test  and  enter  into 
the  resulting  experience,  other  articles  of  belief,  even 
the  more  complicated  and  subtle  ones  of  the  orthodox 
faith,  will  seem  to  possess  a  reasonableness  they  do  not 
possess  for  outsiders  now.  And  the  Church  may  and 
must — for  the  sake  of  clearing  its  own  mind  and  for 
the  reflex  spiritual  influence  this  process  would  exert — 
weave  these  articles  for  itself,  and  preach  them  to  itself, 
as  it  sees  fit.  But  the  Church  has  no  business  to  ask  for 
acceptance  of  these  at  the  start.  The  fundamental  fact 
of  the  situation  is  that  the  Church  believes,  or  ought  to 
believe,  in  a  permanent  and  unfailing  life-dynamic 
stored  "yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,"  in  Jesus  Christ; 
and  though  the  belief  be  a  tremendous  one,  it  is  a  belief 
no  more  difficult  to  test  than  the  belief  that  fire  burns  or 
that  steam  will  propel  the  train.  And  the  Church's 
primary  proclamation  to  the  world  runs  something  like 
this — "Because  I  believe  this,  I  call  on  you,  not  to  be- 
lieve it  off-hand  if  you  find  the  intellectual  difficulty  of 
it  too  great,  but  at  least  to  try  it.  Because  my  creed  tells 
of  a  dynamic,  I  ask  you,  not  to  accept  the  creed,  but  to 
test  the  dynamic.  For  I  am  sure  that  so  you  too  will 
come  to  hold  the  creed." 

One  has  to  admit  that  the  churches — ^both  those 
which  have  insisted  on  lengthy  credal  formularies  and 
those  which  have  reduced  credal  formularies  almost  to 
the  vanishing  point — ^have  pitifully  lost  sight  of  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  veritable  life-force  gathered  up  in  Jesus 
Christ  whereof  they  have  been  appointed  apostles  and 
priests.  And  they  have  done  so  precisely  because  all 
alike  have  held  it  their  primary  business  to  conmaend 
themselves  to  the  intellectual  acceptation  of  mankind — 
which  it  is  not.    The  idea  that  Christianity  can  be  so 

[173] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

commended  is  of  course  perfectly  valid:  there  is  a  true 
and  sound  and  reasonable  theory  of  the  life-force  in 
Jesus  Christ  just  as  there  is  such  a  theory  of  light  or 
heat  or  any  other  force  the  world  contains.  But  the 
Church  is  in  the  position  of  a  man  who  calls  on  a  dark 
world  to  kindle  its  lamps  and  on  a  frozen  world  to  set 
its  fires  burning,  not  in  the  position  of  an  academic  lec- 
turer on  scientific  themes.  And  through  forgetfulness 
of  this  the  whole  question  of  creed  and  credal  demands 
has  become  tangled :  the  tendency  to  excessive  emphasis 
on  creed  has  produced  superstition,  and  the  reaction 
from  superstition  has  produced  the  minimum  religion 
which  is  nothing  more  than  a  gracious  bow  to  goodness 
in  general;  and  the  ceaseless  combat  between  the  re- 
ligions of  maximum  and  minimum  creed,  born  as  it  is 
out  of  a  misapprehension  of  Christianity's  central  idea, 
can  do  nothing  for  Christianity's  central  idea  except  to 
obscure  it  still  further  for  the  eyes  of  men.  And  the 
Church  will  not  see  her  way  through  the  credal  bewilder- 
ment until  she  takes  her  stand  upon  that  central  idea 
again. 

4.  I  think,  then — ^to  sum  the  matter  up — ^that  when 
those  outside  the  Church  excuse  themselves  for  their 
abstention  by  saying  that  the  Church's  creeds  are  too 
complicated  for  their  minds,  the  Church  must  first  of 
all  repudiate  the  idea  that  the  commendation  of  its 
special  creeds  to  the  general  mind  is  in  any  way  its 
primary  care.  But  then  it  must  go  on  to  declare  em- 
phatically that,  nevertheless,  it  has  something  very  spe- 
cial to  commend,  not  as  a  doctrine  which  the  general 
mind  must  embrace,  but  as  a  dynamic  which  human  per- 
sonality must  test.  And  the  Church  must  then  invite 
objectors  to  test  the  dynamic  in  one  of  two  ways  or  in 

[  174  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

two  ways  combined.  If  the  outsider  prefers  to  approach 
the  thing  first  of  all  from  the  intellectual  side,  he  may 
do  so  by  inquiring  how  far  the  facts  of  Christ's  life, 
the  documents  embodying  them,  and  all  other  relevant 
things,  make  the  existence  of  such  a  dynamic  in  Christ 
at  least  plausible,  and  how  faith  in  it  can  be  squared 
with  philosophic  and  systematic  thought.  Only  (the 
Church  must  go  on  to  affirm)  that  is  not  the  end  of  the 
test,  though  it  may  be  the  beginning.  If  the  intel- 
lectual inquiry  leads  the  inquirer  to  a  negative  view, 
the  matter  is  still  not  closed  for  him  until  he  has  sought 
to  submit  himself  to  the  dvnamic  which  the  Church  de- 
clares  to  be  there;  for  unless  he  makes  this  attempt,  he 
has  not  done  his  best  to  make  his  materials  of  judgment 
complete,  and  is  unscientific  to  that  extent,  scientific  as 
he  may  think  himself  to  be.  And  it  might  be  that,  even 
after  his  negative  bent,  philosophically  and  intellectually 
reached,  the  practical  test  might  show  the  dynamic  to 
be  there  after  all,  and  the  philosophizing  to  have  some- 
where gone  wrong.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  outsider 
prefers  to  take  the  practical  test  first,  he  may  do  so,  and 
instead  of  making  experience  test  an  antecedent  plausi- 
bility, may  build  a  positive  theory  upon  what  the  prac- 
tical test  has  given.  Or,  as  was  said,  the  two  testing 
methods  may  be  run  side  by  side.  In  this  way  the 
Church,  while  abandoning  the  imposition  of  creeds — 
offering  no  more  than  a  suggestion  of  one  great  credal 
article  which  each  man  is  to  find  true  or  false  for  him- 
self— by  no  means  abandons  the  creeds  themselves,  and 
is  left  at  liberty  to  develop  out  of  its  central  and  primary 
article  whatever  other  articles  appear  to  be  involved. 
Against  this  the  outsiders  can  have  no  complaint,  for 
in  the  first  instance  they  have  with  these  no  concern. 

[175] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

If  the  Church  does  not  make  acceptance  of  them  a 
condition  of  discipleship,  those  outside  the  Church's 
ranks  have  on  their  part  no  title  to  reprove  the  Church 
for  holding  them.  No  opinion  about  them — since  they 
are  held  by  the  Church  as  involved  in,  consequent  upon, 
the  primary  article  of  a  true  life,  dynamic  in  Jesus 
Christ — can  be  of  any  value  so  long  as  it  is  advanced  by 
those  who  have  not  ascertained  for  themselves  whether 
that  primary  article  be  true  or  false.  In  fine,  what  is 
called  for  is  that  the  Church,  while  feeding  its  own  mind 
and  inspiring  its  own  soul  by  creeds  as  complicated  and 
profound  as  its  spiritual  experience  demands  for  its 
explication,  should  confront  the  world  with  the  one 
fundamental  assertion  that  Christ  has  "life  in  himself," 
and  with  the  one  invitation,  "Test  for  yourself  whether 
or  not  the  case  is  as  I  say."  So  approaching  the  world, 
the  Church  will  be  requiring  no  man  to  do  despite  to  his 
own  reason,  but  will  at  the  same  time  avoid  the  "religion 
at  a  minimum"  to  which  through  the  fear  of  doing  such 
despite  Christianity  is  so  often  reduced,  will  keep  its 
own  distinctiveness  and  be  faithful  to  its  own  special 
call.  And  the  Church  which  does  this  may  be  sure — 
this  at  least  is  the  present  writer's  conviction — ^that  those 
who  respond  to  its  invitation  will  come  presently, 
through  the  sheer  compulsion  of  experience,  into  posses- 
sion of  the  entire  large  catholic  faith. 

To  "harmonize"  the  statements  of  Christianity  with 
philosophy,  with  science,  with  this  or  that,  by  reducing 
or  translating  them  to  the  language  which  these  other 
things  speak,  is  to  solve  the  "credal"  difficulty  and  to 
answer  the  "credal"  objection  after  a  fashion,  no  doubt. 
But  it  is  to  do  so  at  the  cost  of  destroying  Christian- 
ity's special  character,  and  leaving  us  no  more  than 

[176] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christianity's  ghost.  The  truer  solution,  the  truer  reply, 
lies  in  the  Church's  new-found  realization  that  its  busi- 
ness is  not  to  impose  any  creed,  great  or  small,  but  to 
suggest  confidently  that  one  tremendous  idea — ^the  idea 
of  creative  life  in  Christ — is  true,  and  to  call  for  a  per- 
fectly rational,  because  perfectly  practical,  test  of  that 
mystic  idea.  That  is  not  to  impose  faith  in  a  super- 
natural Christ  upon  men,  but  to  ask  men  to  find  out 
for  themselves  how  supernatural — if  it  may  be  so  put — 
Christ  is.  Less  than  this  the  Church  must  not  do.  More 
than  this  it  need  not  do.  For  it  can  have  no  fear  as  to 
results,  if  it — the  Church  itself — ^knows  in  whom  it  has 
believed. 


[177] 


JOHN   MERLE    COULTER,   Ph.D., 

CHICAGO,     ILL. 

Professor  and  head  of  the  department  of  botany.  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  since  1896;  founder,  and  editor  since 
1875,  of  the  Botanical  Gazette;  born  at  Ningpo,  China, 
Nov.  20,  1851;  educated  at  Hanover  College  and  Indiana  . 
University ;  botanist  for  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  1872-73;  professor  of  natural 
sciences,  Hanover  College,  1874-79;  professor  of  biology, 
Wabash  College,  1879-91;  president  and  professor  of 
botany,  Indiana  University,  1891-93;  president  of  Lake 
Forest  University,  1893-96;  principal  of  Bay  View  Sum- 
mer University,  1893-96;  Winona  Summer  School,  1895- 
98.;  author  of  Manual  of  Rocky  Mountain  Botany;  Manual 
of  Texan  Botany;  Plant  Relations;  Plant  Structures; 
Plant  Studies;  Morphology  of  Gymnosperms  (with  Charles 
J.  Chamberlain) ;  Morphology  of  Angiosperms  (with 
same)  ;  A  Text-hooh  of  Botany. 

My  own  experience  with  students  and  with  a  large 
group  of  business  and  professional  men  has  given  me 
some  appreciation  of  their  attitude  toward  the  Church. 
In  general,  they  are  very  sympathetic  with  the  motive 
of  the  Church,  but  they  are  not  attracted  by  what  they 
conceive  to  be  its  requirements  for  membership.  In 
other  words,  they  are  very  much  interested  in  religion, 
and  not  at  all  interested  in  dogmatic  theology.  I  be- 
lieve that  the  confusion  of  religion  with  dogmatic  the- 
ology, a  confusion  largely  due  to  inheritance,  is  respon- 
sible for  most  of  the  alienation  of  men  from  the  Church. 
Religion  is  a  sense  of  obligation  to  God  and  to  man 
that  expresses  itself  in  service,  and  to  this  obligation  I 
find  most  men  ready  to  subscribe.  The  theology  that 
the  public  has  in  mind  is  plainly  philosophical  specula- 
tion, which  has  developed  great  diversity  of  opinion. 

[178] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Once,  men  in  general  were  interested  in  such  specula- 
tions, and  these  speculations  naturally  became  inter- 
woven into  their  religious  organizations,  so  that  dog- 
matic theology  and  religion  appeared  inseparable.  But 
the  men  of  to-day  are  not  interested  in  such  speculations, 
and  it  is  natural  for  them  to  conclude  that  they  are  not 
interested  in  the  Church,  our  historic  religious  organ- 
ization. When  this  entanglement  is  straightened  out, 
and  the  two  things  are  recognized  as  distinct,  most  of 
the  troubles  of  such  men  disappear.  The  fact  is  that  the 
Church  in  general  has  recognized  this,  and  does  not  oflfer 
the  obstacles  to  membership  that  these  men  imagine. 

It  is  obvious  that  if  Jesus  is  to  be  taken  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  religion — certainly  he  could  not  be  taken 
as  the  embodiment  of  dogmatic  theology — the  association 
of  reason  and  religion  is  to  be  insisted  upon.  According 
to  him  we  are  to  use  the  mind  as  well  as  the  heart  in 
service  to  God  and  our  neighbor.  This  means  that  re- 
ligion cannot  include  anything  that  reason  rejects; 
that  all  of  the  triumphs  of  reason  must  be  consistent 
with  religion.  Of  course  the  Church  has  often  laid 
too  exclusive  stress  upon  the  factor  of  affection  (the 
"heart"),  and  the  result  has  been  blind  devotion  rather 
than  intelligent  devotion.  It  has  even  deplored  intel- 
lectual triumphs  because  they  tended  to  unsettle  devo- 
tion. But  it  is  clear  that  this  was  no  part  of  the  pro- 
gram of  Jesus. 

Any  study  of  history  should  straighten  out  the 
situation.  Jesus  found  the  Hebrew  religion  entangled 
in  a  meshwork  of  speculation,  so  completely  that  the 
meshwork  obscured  the  religion.  He  disentangled  it, 
and  left  religion  in  plain  sight,  but  a  philosophical  age 
soon  began  to  weave  about  it  again  a  new  meshwork 

[179] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  speculation.  It  is  this  new  meshwork  that  the  mod- 
ern scientific  attitude  of  mind  is  trying  to  cut  through. 
It  insists  that  the  mission  of  theology,  the  noblest  of 
sciences,  is  not  to  obscure  religion,  but  to  keep  it  in  plain 
sight. 

The  time  has  come  to  stop  thinking  of  the  Christian 
religion  as  defined  by  the  "traditions  of  the  elders,"  as 
a  maze  of  irreconcilable  speculations.  Its  obligations 
are  not  those  of  intellectual  consent  to  ancient  beliefs, 
but  of  progressive  belief  in  all  that  increasing  knowledge 
brings  and  of  progressive  service  as  new  opportunities 
arise.  As  Peabody  puts  it:  "The  Church,  the  organized 
representative  of  religion,  is  to  be  regarded,  not  as  a 
cold-storage  warehouse,  but  as  a  power-house." 

If  the  Church  would  put  religion  to  the  front,  as  the 
well-nigh  universal  impulse  that  develops  men  into  the 
highest  efficiency  in  all  their  relations,  it  would  meet 
men  where  they  live  to-day,  and  men  would  respond. 
The  philosophical  aspects  of  religion  should  be  deferred 
to  a  time  when  religious  service  has  developed  some 
basis  of  experience.  The  men  I  have  known  are  most 
attracted  by  an  opportunity  for  service,  and  if  this  is 
true,  this  opportunity  should  be  the  open  door  to  the 
Church, 


[180] 


GEORGE    CROSS,   Ph.D.,   D.D., 

EOCHESTER^   N.   Y. 

Professor  at  Rochester  Theological  Seminary,  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  since  1912;  born  at  Bewdley,  Ontario,  Sept.  21, 
1862;  received  his  education  at  Woodstock  College,  Uni- 
versity of  Toronto,  1888,  McMaster  University,  1894,  and 
University  of  Chicago,  1897-98;  ordained  to  the  Baptist 
ministry,  1888;  pastor  at  Ormond,  Ontario,  1887-89;  Cal- 
gary, Alberta,  1889-92;  Carleton  Place,  Ontario,  1894-97; 
Aylmer,  Ontario,  1898-1901;  professor  of  history,  Mc- 
Master University,  1901-9;  professor  of  systematic  the- 
ology, Newton  Theological  Institution,  1909-12;  author  of 
The  Theology  of  Schleiermacher, 

CONCERNING  A   NEW   CONFESSION   OF   FAITH 

A  CHARACTERISTIC  feature  of  the  history  of  the  Christian 
religion  is  the  appearance  from  time  to  time  of  formal 
statements  of  belief  issued  by  communities  of  Christians 
in  justification  of  their  corporate  existence  or  for  pur- 
poses of  discipline.  The  most  important  of  these  creeds 
or  confessions  of  faith  arose  on  occasion  of  some  crisis 
when  the  religious  foundations  were  conceived  to  be  in 
danger  or  some  new  religious  enterprise  was  about  to 
be  undertaken.  There  are  two  periods  of  creed-making 
that  stand  out  preeminently,  namely,  the  Nicene  age — 
when  the  Catholic  Church  took  definite  form,  and  the 
age  of  the  Protestant -Reformation — when  the  great 
Protestant  state-churches  were  established.  Up  to  the 
present  the  whole  course  of  Christian  theology  has  been 
determined  mainly  by  reference  to  the  standards  of  be- 
lief then  set  up. 

Besides  these  historic  creeds,  however,  there  ap- 
peared many  private  formulations  of  doctrine  by  indi- 

[  181  ]  ^ 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

vidual  thinkers  or  by  smaller  bodies  or  local  congrega- 
tions. The  most  noteworthy  of  these  are  the  early  form 
of  the  so-called  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Arian  Creed,  and, 
in  the  later  Protestant  times.  Congregational,  or  Baptist 
Confessions.  The  latter  were  mostly  defensive  utter- 
ances and  modify  the  "orthodox"  confessions  in  a  few 
particulars.  They  are  none  the  less  significant  as  evi- 
dences of  the  inadequacy  of  the  accepted  standards  to 
express  the  meaning  of  growing  religious  conviction  and 
as  f  oregleams  of  a  time  when  all  the  historic  creeds  and 
confessions  should  be  set  aside. 

The  erection  of  these  standard  religious  tests  had  at 
the  time  the  double  effect  of  constituting  a  bond  of  cor- 
porate unity  for  those  who  conformed  to  them  and  of 
driving  dissentients  to  form  rival  ecclesiastical  organ- 
izations. On  the  one  side  they  came  to  have  the  force 
of  ecclesiastical  law  and  were  viewed  as  identical  with 
the  conditions  of  salvation.  On  the  other  side  they  were 
felt  to  be  arbitrary  restraints  upon  personal  freedom 
and,  with  the  growing  sense  of  the  sacred  character  of 
liberty,  created  reactions  of  unbelief.  Thus,  while  the 
orthodox  creeds  were  used  for  a  time  as  weapons  of 
attack  upon  the  right  of  dissent,  they  all  found  them- 
selves compelled  at  length  to  stand  continually  on  the 
defensive  against  the  attacks  of  the  individual  thinker. 
Inasmuch,  moreover,  as  many  of  the  assailants  of  the 
standards  have  been  men  of  powerful  moral  fiber  and 
devoted  life,  this  very  necessity  of  continual  defense  be- 
comes in  each  case  evidence  that  the  accepted  creed  cor- 
responds no  longer  with  the  character  of  the  religious 
spirit  of  the  coming  age. 

Incontestably,  at  the  present  moment,  we  are  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  spiritual  crisis.    The  complexion  of  the 

[  182] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

inner  life  of  Christendom  is  rapidly  changing.  The 
great  mass  of  Christians  have  heard  the  call  to  new  en- 
deavor and  have  felt  the  mighty  impulse  of  new  practical 
enterprise.  What  the  nature  of  this  new  movement 
may  be  we  shall  inquire  more  definitely  in  a  few  mo- 
ments. Synchronously  with  this  religious  revival  there 
has  come  an  intellectual  movement  pervading  the  minds 
of  the  multitudes  who  have  come  under  the  influence  of 
modern  methods  of  education.  So  far  as  the  creeds  are 
concerned  these  two  currents  of  life  have  coalesced  to 
produce  one  effect.  They  are  sweeping  away — they 
have  already  swept  away — the  authority  of  the  tradi- 
tional tests  of  faith.  It  is  not  merely  that  the  scholars 
say  so;  in  the  religious  activities  of  the  day  these  tests 
are  practically  ignored  by  most  people.  If  religious 
faith  is  still  to  find  theoretical  expression  in  doctrine,  this 
expression  must  be  largely  different  from  what  it  has 
ever  been,  and  the  use  to  which  it  is  to  be  put  must  be 
different.  The  principal  reasons  therefor  may  be 
summed  up  under  two  heads. 

The  growth  of  intelligence  has  produced  a  demand 
for  the  restatement  of  the  Christian  faith  if  that  faith 
is  to  be  held  by  educated  men.  The  scholarship  of  mod- 
em times  has  put  within  the  reach  of  multitudes  of 
intelligent  men  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  and  especially  of  the  origin,  manner  of 
composition,  meaning  and  aim  of  the  books  of  the  Bible 
and  of  their  collection  in  a  canon,  that  was  not  available 
to  the  earlier  interpreters  of  the  faith  and  that  must 
have  deeply  affected  their  statements  had  they  possessed 
it.  The  result  is  that  many  of  the  theological  assump- 
tions underlying  the  earlier  theological  use  of  the  Bible 
have  been  set  aside  and  at  the  same  time  a  richer  under- 

[183] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

standing  of  the  meaning  of  the  Christian  religion  has 
.been  brought  to  the  human  heart.  The  legalistic  use  of 
the  Bible  must  be  abandoned.  The  non-theological  pur- 
pose of  the  greater  part  of  it  must  be  admitted.  The 
spiritual  life  exhibited  in  it  is  seen  to  be  of  greater  worth 
than  the  particular  methods  the  various  writers  used  in 
setting  it  forth.  Christianity  is  seen  to  be  in  itself  a  life 
of  trust  and  love  rather  than  a  body  of  doctrine  or  a 
prescribed  order.  Conscientious  men  cannot  overlook 
these  facts  when  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  a  confession  of 
faith. 

The  growth  of  what  is  commonly  called  secular 
knowledge  is  a  factor  of  almost  equal  importance  when 
we  come  to  a  statement  of  our  faith.  The  stupendous 
results  of  the  scientific  study  of  the  world  of  nature  have 
been  steadily  forcing  Christian  people  to  a  reconsidera- 
tion of  the  meaning  of  the  world  and  of  our  life  in  it. 
The  ancient  cosmology  (on  which  the  ancient  Christian 
creeds  repose),  with  its  geocentric  view  of  things,  has 
been  overthrown.  The  sovereignty  of  law  and  the  prev- 
alence of  the  natural  order  are  now  acknowledged  to  be 
essential  to  a  truly  moral  life.  The  evolutionary  char- 
acter of  all  life  is  a  common  premise  of  historical  study. 
What  a  different  view  of  God  and  of  man  and  of  the 
relation  of  both  to  the  world  must  be  held  by  the  modern 
man,  as  compared  with  the  view  of  our  forefathers,  if 
he  is  to  be  true  to  his  intelligence  and  yet  true  to  faith! 
We  do  well  to  remember  that  no  religious  community 
can  fulfil  its  gracious  mission  to  humanity  if  it  sets 
itself  in  opposition  to  scientific  fact  or  makes  it  impos- 
sible for  a  man  of  science  to  be  a  partaker  of  its  faith. 
The  present  generation  of  young  people  has  as  keen  a 
conscience  for  the  facts  of  nature  as  for  the  beliefs  of 

[184] 


Arthur  C.  Benson       ( 

(C)  EUiott  &  Fry 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

religion.  God  has  joined  these  together.  They  must 
never  be  divorced. 

The  value  of  this  side  of  things  is  seen  when  we  per- 
ceive that  science  is  now  consciously  in  pursuit  of  an 
aim  that  is  at  bottom  one  with  the  aim  of  religion,  name- 
ly, to  point  out  the  way  in  which  we  may  truly  fulfil 
the  meaning  of  a  human  life.  To  ignore  its  discov- 
eries is  to  be  immoral  and  anti-religious. 

The  most  urgent  call  to  a  revision  of  our  religious 
confessions  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  Christian  spirit 
has  come  recently  to  a  fresh  apprehension  of  the  practi- 
cal issues  of  a  religious  life  and  of  the  aims  of  the  gospel. 
In  the  theories  of  the  past  (though  we  may  well  thank 
God  that  the  actual  practises  of  Christians  generally 
proceeded  on  a  higher  plane)  the  purpose  of  the  Chris- 
tian revelation  was  to  prepare  men  for  the  coming  world- 
cataclysm,  or  to  impart  a  metaphysical  deathlessness  to 
men,  or  to  secure  their  final  deliverance  from  the  pains 
of  hell  hereafter,  or  to  give  them  the  present  assurance 
of  such  ultimate  deliverance.  The  value  of  the  present 
life  lay  in  its  preparatory  relation  to  a  post-earthly  life. 
Now,  allowing  for  all  the  truth  which  men  do  well  still 
to  see  in  those  theories,  it  must  be  said  that  none  of 
them  represents  the  view  of  life  that  appeals  most 
strongly  to  Protestant  Christians  to-day,  as  a  whole. 

The  evidence  of  the  change  of  attitude  toward  the 
natural  world  and  the  natural  life  is  clear  as  soon  as  we 
turn  to  the  prevailing  forms  of  Christian  activity  and 
appeal.  The  foreign  missionary  enterprise  has  become 
all-engrossing.  It  is  seldom  now  that  we  hear  mission- 
aries pressing  the  necessity  of  rescuing  from  a  hopeless 
hereafter  the  countless  millions  of  heathens  as  men  al- 
ready condemned  by  their  very  birth  in  sin.    They  rather 

[185] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

appeal  to  us  to  raise  the  whole  mass  of  non- Christian 
peoples,  in  both  their  individual  and  social  capacity,  to 
a  higher  religious,  moral,  intellectual  and  physical  life, 
with  the  assurance  that  eternity  cannot  reverse  these 
values.  Similarly,  in  Christian  lands,  the  aim  of  active 
Christians  is  not  to  subject  men  to  sacraments,  or  to 
orders,  or  to  doctrines,  in  order  to  guarantee  to  them 
eternal  felicity;  but  it  is  to  elevate  their  whole  being, 
to  fill  their  whole  personal,  social,  industrial  and  civil  life 
with  new  and  holy  power  that  will  bring  to  their  being  as 
its  eternal  possession  the  fulfilment  of  its  potencies. 

It  seems,  then,  that  in  Protestant  Christendom,  at 
least,  the  center  of  interest  in  the  issues  of  life  is  found 
in  the  conviction  of  the  unspeakable  worth  of  a  human 
personality  and  the  obligation  of  all  to  fulfil  it.  So  far 
as  the  knowledge  of  the  present  writer  goes,  there  is  no 
extant  confession  of  faith  that  gives  adequate  expression 
to  this  conviction.  Is  such  a  confession  of  faith  needed? 
Most  certainly.    The  reasons  are  not  far  to  seek. 

The  Christian  life  is  dominated  by  an  ideal;  its  face 
is  to  the  future,  rather  than  the  past.  If  this  ideal  be  not 
intelligently  defined  the  inexhaustible  impulse  to  ac- 
tivity which  is  communicated  in  the  Christian  faith  may 
lose  itself  in  confused  and  meaningless  effort.  Chris- 
tians must  be  more  than  individuals.  They  constitute 
a  communion.  Their  inner  spiritual  unity  must  find 
consistent  expression  if  it  is  to  grow.  Moreover,  this 
'Christian  life  does  not  start  afresh  with  each  new  con- 
vert, but  it  has  been  historically  continuous  from  the 
beginning.  The  Christian  life  and  effort  of  to-day  must 
be  consciously  held  as  the  continuance  and  fulfilment 
of  itself  from  the  first.  It  is  in  some  deep  sense  one 
with  the  life  of  humanity.    In  order,  then,  to  fulfil  the 

[186] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

yearning  after  a  universal  human  brotherhood  which  is 
essential  to  the  Christian  spirit,  it  is  necessary  that  our 
struggle  toward  this  great  end  be  guided  by  the  Chris- 
tian conception  of  the  meaning  of  human  life. 

The  true  purpose  of  a  Christian  confession  of  faith 
is  evident.  It  is  not  an  attempt  to  carry  out  the  arrogant 
claim  to  lay  down  "the  doctrines  necessary  to  salvation." 
Nor  is  it  to  prescribe  exclusive  terms  of  church  mem- 
bership. It  is  not  to  lay  down  the  law  of  discipline.  But 
it  is  to  give  definite  intelligent  direction  and  conscious 
inspiration  to  religious  effort.  It  is  to  supply  a  watch- 
word, a  rallying  center  and  a  bond  of  union  to  believers. 
It  becomes  in  the  end  a  form  of  self -commitment  to  a 
common  cause. 

Therefore  it  must  be  simple,  that  the  common  man 
may  grasp  it.  It  must  be  brief  that  it  may  enlighten  and 
not  confuse.  It  must  be  general  that  it  may  be  world- 
wide in  its  scope.  It  must  be  expansive  rather  than 
restrictive,  that  it  may  inspire  noble,  free  natures.  It 
must  be  true  to  the  meaning  of  Christian  history,  that 
it  may  bring  to  the  task  of  the  present  the  strength  that 
comes  from  a  conviction  of  continuity  with  the  past. 
Once  more,  it  must  interpret  the  practical  issues  of  the 
coming  day — it  must  be  prophetical  of  coming  achieve- 
ment— that  it  may  nerve  men  to  the  highest  endeavor. 

It  must  be  understood,  however,  that  the  general 
confession  which  is  here  advocated  for  the  sake  of  realiz- 
ing a  progressive  Christian  unity  of  purpose  and  ac- 
tivity is  not  to  be  regarded  as  sufficient  for  all.  I  am  no 
advocate  of  the  formation  of  one  vast  religious  corpora- 
tion that  shall  include  all  Christians.  There  must  be 
room  for  distinct  denominations  of  Christians  within  the 
Christian  communion,  since  varieties  of  religious  expe- 

[187] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

rience,  diversities  of  purpose,  and  difference  of  environ- 
ment are  inevitable  and  welcome.  Within  the  all-inclu- 
sive unity  minor  unities  will  exist  for  the  conserving  of 
special  interests.  Indeed,  each  local  religious  commu- 
nity does  well  to  preserve  its  right  to  individuality  of 
life.  Not  a  dead  uniformity,  but  the  harmony  of  differ- 
ence constitutes  the  living  Christian  unity. 

With  this  understanding  it  is  herewith  suggested 
that  the  confession  of  Christian  faith  for  the  immediate 
future  may  proceed  somewhat  as  follows : 

1.  We  believe  in  one  supreme,  personal  God;  Father 
of  our  spirits  and  Author  of  the  universe;  Ruler  and 
Judge  of  all;  loving  and  kind,  just  and  holy,  forgiving 
and  true ;  speaking  to  every  human  heart ;  willing  that 
all  men  should  come  into  fellowship  with  him. 

2.  We  believe  in  Jesus  Christ;  in  whom  the  God  of 
love  has  come  to  us;  who  gave  himself  for  all;  whom 
we  own  as  Lord  of  our  lives;  who  has  revealed  to  us 
what  we  all  may  be;  who  is  the  Friend  of  sinners  and 
Saviour  of  all  who  seek  to  be  like  him. 

3.  We  believe  in  the  eternal  unity  of  the  followers 
of  Jesus  in  one  Spirit;  they  are  equal  in  the  rights  of 
spiritual  brotherhood;  they  are  servants  to  one  another; 
they  are  ever  to  seek  to  bring  all  men  of  all  races  into  the 
life  of  this  one  holy  family. 

4.  We  believe  in  the  eternal  worth  of  every  man. 
The  good  gift  of  life  is  equally  precious  to  all;  the 
wealth  of  the  good  world  of  nature  is  for  all ;  every  one 
has  the  right  to  the  good- will  and  ministry  of  all; 
to  fail  to  render  this  service  or  to  wrong  a  fellow-man 
is  to  sin  against  God. 

5.  We  believe  in  the  sanctity  of  the  wedded  life  of 
one  man  with  one  woman  and  of  parenthood;  in  the 

[188] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

supremacy  of  the  home  and  the  right  of  all  children  to 
the  means  of  attaining  to  true  manhood  and  woman- 
hood ;  in  the  sacred  dignity  of  labor  and  of  commerce  in 
its  products ;  in  the  obligation  of  all  men  to  a  pure  social 
and  civil  life. 

6.  We  believe  in  the  freedom  of  religious  faith  and 
of  thought;  in  the  prerogative  of  the  individual;  in  his 
right  to  propagate  his  beliefs  among  all  men  without 
violence  to  or  from  any;  that  in  the  exercise  of  this 
liberty  lies  the  way  to  the  ultimate  imity  of  all, 

7.  We  believe  that  our  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  our  Father,  will  never  leave  us  or  for- 
sake us;  all  things  shall  work  together  for  our  good; 
even  in  death  we  shall  be  brought  nearer  to  him;  in  his 
presence  we  shall  live  the  life  of  unselfish  and  eternal 
blessedness.  Therefore  we  do  now  unitedly  yield  our- 
selves to  him  that  we  may  serve  him  forever. 

This  confession  is  offered  as  a  common  nucleus  of 
a  statement  of  Christian  faith.  As  has  been  said  al- 
ready, it  is  not  contemplated  as  exhaustive  or  final.  It 
may  be  expanded  by  each  several  communion  to  ex- 
press the  distinctive  interpretation  of  the  task  of  life 
for  which  the  communion  stands,  and  by  each  man  to 
set  forth  his  personal  apprehension  of  the  purpose  for 
which  he  lives.  It  is  to  serve  the  aim  of  expanding  and 
not  of  limiting  the  range  and  power  of  faith. 

As  for  the  conditions  of  local  membership,  these 
should  always  be  prescribed  by  the  local  communion. 
And  the  conditions  on  the  spiritual  side  should  be  noth- 
ing more  than  the  candidate's  ability  to  assure  the  body 
of  his  sharing  in  the  religious  life  and  aim  of  the  com- 
munion. It  must  also  decide  for  itself  what  outer  form 
of  admission  is  to  be  followed. 

£189] 


WILLIAM  JAMES  DAWSON,  D.D., 

NEWARK^   N.   J. 

Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Newark,  N.  J.; 
born  at  Towcester,  Northampton,  England,  Nov.  21,  1854; 
educated  at  Didsbury  College,  Manchester;  ordained  to 
the  Wesleyan  ministry,  1875;  held  pastorates  at  Wesley's 
Chapel,  London,  and  in  Glasgow  and  Southport,  until 
1892;  in  1891  was  a  delegate  to  the  Methodist  Ecumeni- 
cal Conference  at  Washington,  D.  C;  pastor  of  the  High- 
bury Quadrant  Congregational  Church,  London,  1892- 
1905;  came  to  the  United  States  and  has  lectured  widely 
on  literary  and  historical  subjects;  author  of  A  Vision 
of  Souls  (poems) ;  Quest  and  Vision;  The  Threshold  of 
Manhood;  Makers  of  English  Poetry;  The  House  of 
Dreams;  Makers  of  English  Prose;  The  Man  Christ  Jesus; 
The  Reproach  of  Christ;  Quest  of  the  Simple  Life;  The 
Evangelistic  Note;  The  Forgotten  Secret;  The  Empire  of 
Love;  A  Prophet  in  Babylon;  A  Soldier  of  the  Future; 
Masterman  and  Son;  The  Reader's  Library  (with  C.  W. 
Dawson) ;  The  Book  of  Courage. 

WHY   INTELLIGENT   MEN   DO    NOT   BECOME 
CHURCH  MEMBERS 

I  DO  not  think  that  the  indifference  of  great  numbers 
of  intelligent  men  to  the  Church,  and  their  reluctance 
to  enroll  themselves  in  its  membership,  has  very  much 
to  do  with  personal  inability  to  accept  certain  statements 
of  thought  and  belief.  In  Abraham  Lincoln's  day  the 
conditions  were  very  different.  No  doubt  churches  at 
that  time  did  lay  great  stress  on  the  acceptance  of 
certain  articles  of  faith,  and  men  of  Lincoln's  freedom 
of  mind  and  honesty  of  temper  resented  them.  But  that 
day  has  long  since  passed  away.  What  church  is  there 
to-day  that  insists  upon  a  profession  of  faith  in  certain 
intricate  theologic  statements  before  it  will  receive  a 

[190] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

man  into  its  membership?  I  am  acquainted  with  none. 
For  ministers,  who  are  deliberately  set  apart  as  expo- 
nents of  Christian  truth,  such  tests  do  naturally  exist, 
but  even  these  have  been  greatly  modified  by  the  spirit 
of  modern  tolerance.  They  do  not  usually  go  beyond  a 
general  assent,  and  leave  a  large  option  of  private  inter- 
pretation. The  general  practise  of  all  Protestant 
churches  as  regards  individual  members  is  to  ask  for 
a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Master, 
and  a  promise  to  obey  his  rules  of  conduct;  and  so  far 
as  my  knowledge  goes  this  form  of  profession  is  made 
as  simple  as  possible.  No  intelligent  man,  seeking  to 
join  any  one  of  the  great  Protestant  churches  could 
expect  a  less  simple  and  exigent  test,  and  no  honest  man 
would  desire  it.  For  myself,  I  may  say  as  a  minister 
who  has  served  three  denominations,  that  I  have  never 
sought  from  any  applicant  for  membership  anything 
more  than  the  expression  of  a  genuine  love  for  Christ 
and  a  willingness  to  obey  and  follow  him ;  and  I  believe 
this  to  be  the  practise  of  the  vast  majority  of  Protestant 
ministers.  Abraham  Lincoln  would  have  found  no  dif- 
ficulty in  joining  any  church  of  which  I  have  been  the 
minister. 

The  real  reluctance  of  intelligent  men  to  become 
members  of  churches  is  based  upon  quite  another  series 
of  reasons,  of  which  I  select  the  following: 

1.  The  absence  of  the  modern  spirit  in  preaching. 
The  preacher  is  too  often  engaged  in  getting  something 
off  his  own  mind  rather  than  getting  something  into  the 
minds  of  his  hearers.  He  is  not  aware  of  the  thoughts 
that  are  most  vital  to  the  mass  of  men,  or  if  he  is,  ignores 
them.  He  builds  up  a  weekly  essay  upon  things  which 
please  himself,  without  reference  to  the  needs  of  his 

[  191  ] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

hearers.  Even  when  such  essays  are  well  done,  and  dis- 
play a  certain  command  of  form  and  language,  the  in- 
telligent hearer  is  apt  to  say,  "I  can  stay  at  home  and 
find  in  my  books  better  statements  of  the  same  themes." 
More  frequently  he  says,  "The  themes  that  most  inter- 
est me  are  treated  by  scores  of  clever  writers  in  current 
journalism  and  literature,  and  I  prefer  listening  to 
them."  If  any  one  will  carefully  study  the  themes  an- 
nounced by  preachers  Sunday  after  Sunday,  he  will 
soon  realize  how  remote  many  of  them  are  from  the 
thinkings  of  average  men,  and  how  little  they  can  be 
expected  to  appeal  to  men  who  are  not  Christian  wor- 
shipers by  tradition  and  education. 

2.  The  suspicion  of  unreality  in  the  life  of  the 
Church.  The  greatest  moral  force  in  the  world,  which 
is  the  Church,  is  by  no  means  devoted  with  constant 
honesty  and  enthusiasm  to  the  great  moral  problems  of 
the  day.  While  we  may  thankfully  own  that  there  are 
many  ministers  who  are  the  outstanding  soldier-saints 
of  every  moral  and  social  cause,  it  is  lamentably  obvious 
that  many  others  appear  to  be  cloister-bred,  with  no  real 
touch  on  life  as  it  is.  Hence  the  sense  of  unreality;  of 
much  speech  and  little  result;  the  absence  of  practical 
value.  And  since  this  is  the  age  of  pragmatism,  many 
intelligent  men  are  ready  to  say  of  the  Church,  "It  does 
little  or  nothing  in  the  vital  direction  of  the  national  life, 
and  why  should  I  join  it?" 

3.  The  dread  of  contention,  which  has  been  the 
scandal  and  the  ruin  of  so  many  churches.  Too  often 
faction,  jealousy,  envy,  and  uncharitableness  have  found 
congenial  soil  in  the  churches.  There  have  been  bitter 
quarrels  over  ministers,  and  among  members ;  and  even 
where  these  have  not  attained  scandalous  dimensions, 

[192] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

there  has  often  existed  an  atmosphere  of  petty  friction, 
very  distasteful  to  a  man  of  fine  temper.  I  have  known 
whole  families,  containing  men  and  women  of  really 
fine  qualities,  who  have  been  totally  alienated  from  the 
Church  by  some  remembered  bitterness  of  long  ago, 
whereby  their  parents  suffered.  I  have  also  known 
many  men  of  the  highest  character  who  have  said,  "I 
will  thankfully  attend  your  ministry,  but  I  will  never 
unite  with  your  Church,  because  I  dread  being  drawn 
into  this  or  that  faction."  If  we  could  take  a  canvass 
of  the  men  whose  fathers  were  life-long  supporters  of 
the  churches,  but  who  themselves  have  studiously  held 
aloof,  and  often  have  drifted  into  positive  hostility  to 
the  Church,  I  believe  we  should  find  a  great  mmiber  who 
would  give  this  explanation  of  their  attitude. 

I  do  not  seek  to  explain  or  combat  these  reasons;  I 
merely  state  them.  I  have  found  them  to  be  general 
and  cogent.  And  I  believe  these  are  the  main  reasons, 
however  fully  or  imperfectly  justified,  which  deter  mul- 
titudes of  intelligent  men  to-day  from  becoming  mem- 
bers of  the  various  churches. 


[193] 


JAMES   DENNEY,   D.D., 

GLASGOW^   SCOTLAND 

Professor  of  New  Testament  language,  literature,  and  the- 
ology. United  Free  Church  College,  Glasgow,  since  1897; 
born  at  Paisley,  Feb.  5,  1856;  educated  at  Highlanders* 
Academy,  Greenock,  Glasgow  University,  and  Free  Church 
College;  minister  of  East  Free  Church,  Broughty  Ferry, 
1886-97;  author  of  The  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians, 
and  The  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (Expositor's 
Bible);  Studies  in  Theology;  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
{Expositor's  Greek  Testament);  Gospel  Questions  and 
^Answers;  The  Death  of  Christ;  The  Atonement  and  the 
Modern  Mind;  Jesus  and  the  Gospel. 

In  response  to  our  communication  Professor  Denney 
wrote:  "I  have  already  said  my  say  about  this  in  my 
book  Jesus  and  the  Gospel,  and  I  have  not  really  any- 
thing to  add."    'VV^e  quote  the  passage  :* 

"What  Christ  claims  and  what  is  his  due  is  a  place  in 
the  faith  of  men — in  other  words,  it  is  an  attitude  of  the 
soul  to  himself  as  he  is  presented  to  us  in  the  gospel. 
We  are  bound  to  him,  in  that  wonderful  significance 
which  he  has  for  the  life  of  the  soul,  that  unique  and 
incommimicable  power  which  he  has  to  determine  all  our 
relations  to  God  and  man.  To  be  true  Christians,  we 
are  thus  bound  to  him;  but  we  are  not  bound  to  any- 
thing else.  But  for  what  he  is  and  for  what  he  has  done, 
we  could  not  be  Christians  at  all:  but  for  our  recogni- 
tion of  what  he  is,  but  for  our  acceptance  of  what  he 
has  done,  and  our  sense  of  infinite  obligation  to  him  as 
we  realize  the  cost  at  which  he  has  done  it,  we  could 
not  tell  what  Christianity  means.    But  we  are  not  bound 

*  "From  JesMS  and  the  Oospelf  by  James  Denney,  D.D.,  by  permission  of 
George  H.  Doran  Company.    Copyright  1908.'* 

[194] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  any  man's  or  to  any  church's  rendering  of  what  he 
is  or  has  done.  We  are  not  bound  to  any  Christology, 
or  to  any  doctrine  of  the  work  of  Christ.  No  intellectual 
construction  of  what  Christ's  presence  and  work  in  the 
world  mean  is  to  be  imposed  beforehand  as  a  law  upon 
faith,  or  a  condition  of  membership  in  the  Church.  It 
is  faith  which  makes  a  Christian;  and  when  the  Chris- 
tian attitude  of  the  soul  to  Christ  is  found,  it  must  be 
free  to  raise  its  own  problems  and  to  work  out  its  own 
solutions.  This  is  the  point  at  which  'broad'  churchism 
is  in  the  right  against  an  evangelical  Christianity  which 
has  not  learned  to  distinguish  between  its  faith — in 
which  it  is  unassailable — and  inherited  forms  of  doctrine 
which  have  been  unreflectingly  identified  with  it.  Nat- 
ural as  such  identification  may  be,  and  painful  as  it  may 
be  to  separate  in  thought  things  which  have  coalesced 
in  strong  and  sacred  feelings,  there  is  nothing  more 
certain  than  that  the  distinction  must  be  recognized  if 
evangelical  Christians  are  to  maintain  their  intellectual 
integrity,  and  preach  the  gospel  in  a  world  which  is 
intellectually  free.  We  are  bound  to  Christ,  and  would 
see  all  men  so  bound;  but  we  must  leave  it  to  Christ  to 
establish  his  ascendency  over  men  in  his  own  way — ^by 
the  power  of  what  he  is  and  what  he  has  done — and  not 
seek  to  secure  it  beforehand  by  the  imposition  of  chains 
of  our  forging. 

"It  is  one  of  the  most  urgent  needs  of  the  Church  at 
the  present  moment  to  have  both  these  truths  recognized 
in  their  full  extent.  There  can  be  no  Christianity  to 
maintain  if  the  evangelical  truth  is  not  asserted  that 
Christ  must  have  in  the  faith  of  men  no  less  or  lower 
place  than  he  has  had  from  the  beginning,  or  than  he 
himself,  as  we  have  seen,  deliberately  assumed;  but 

[  195  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

there  can  be  no  hope  of  appealing  to  the  world  in  which 
we  live  to  give  Christ  such  a  place  in  its  faith  if  we 
identify  doing  so  with  the  acceptance  beforehand  of  the 
inherited  theology  or  Christology  of  the  Church.  This 
is  not  said  with  any  indifference  to  theology  or  Chris- 
tology, with  any  feeling  that  Christ  and  his  place  in  the 
world,  and  especially  in  the  relations  of  God  and  man, 
are  not  worth  thinking  about.  On  the  contrary,  there 
is  nothing  which  is  so  much  worth  thinking  about,  nor 
so  certain  to  stimulate  thought  if  only  thought  is  left 
free.  Nor  is  it  said  on  the  other  hand  with  any  indif- 
ference to  the  place  of  Christ:  that  is  assumed  to  be 
indisputable  from  the  outset.  The  problem  is  to  find 
a  way  of  securing  the  two  things :  unreserved  recognition 
of  the  place  which  Christ  has  always  held  in  evangelical 
faith,  and  entire  intellectual  freedom  in  thinking  out 
what  this  implies.  There  is  no  necessary  inconsistency 
in  the  combination ;  it  has  been  realized  in  every  original 
Christian  thinker,  and  the  true  teachers  of  the  Church 
are  one  prolonged  illustration  of  it.  Not  only  great  the- 
ologians, but  great  evangelists  like  Zinzendorf  and 
Wesley  have  explicitly  recognized  it.  To  refer  to  the 
former.  He  was,  says  his  biographer,  indifferent  to 
many  things  to  which  the  theologians  of  his  time  at- 
tached supreme  importance ;  for  he  believed  that  all  who 
love  the  Saviour  meet  in  a  spiritual  unity  raised  infi- 
nitely above  the  barriers  erected  between  the  different 
churches  by  differences  of  rite  and  tradition;  and  even 
by  their  errors.  'Although,'  he  wrote,  *I  am  and  mean  to 
remain  a  member  of  the  evangelical  {i,e,j  the  Luther- 
an) Church,  nevertheless  I  do  not  bind  Christ  and  his 
truth  to  any  sect;  whoever  believes  that  he  is  saved  by 
the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  by  living  faith,  that  is  to 

[196] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

say,  whoever  seeks  and  finds  in  Christ  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, sanctification  and  redemption,  is  my  brother; 
and  for  what  remains,  I  regard  it  as  an  unprofitable 
task,  or  as  rather  injurious  than  profitable,  to  examine 
what  his  opinions  are,  or  what  his  exegesis.  In  that 
sense,'  he  goes  on,  *I  admit  that  it  makes  no  difference 
to  me  that  a  man  is  heterodox — ^but  in  this  sense  only.' 
Similar  passages  might  be  multiplied  from  Wesley.  In 
his  Journal,  under  date  May  18,  1788,  he  says:  'I  sub- 
joined (to  his  sermon  on  "Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love; 
these  three")  a  short  account  of  Methodism,  particu- 
larly insisting  on  the  circumstances.  There  is  no  other 
religious  society  under  heaven  which  requires  nothing 
of  men  in  order  to  their  admission  into  it  but  a  desire 
to  save  their  souls.  Look  all  around  you,  you  cannot  be 
admitted  into  the  Church  {i.e.,  the  Church  of  England) , 
or  society  of  the  Presbyterians,  Anabaptists,  Quakers, 
or  any  others,  unless  you  hold  the  same  opinions  with 
them,  and  adhere  to  the  same  mode  of  worship.  The 
Methodists  alone  do  not  insist  on  your  holding  this  or 
that  opinion;  but  they  think  and  let  think.'  No  one  will 
suspect  Wesley  of  indifference  to  the  place  which  Christ 
must  have  in  Christian  faith,  but  he  was  as  clear  as 
Zinzendorf  that  this  place  was  one  thing,  and  that  the 
theological  explanations  of  it  or  deductions  from  it  were 
another.  It  is  this  distinction  between  soundness  in 
faith — a  genuinely  Christian  attitude  of  the  soul  to 
Christ,  in  virtue  of  which  Christ  determines  the  spiritual 
life  throughout — and  soundness  in  doctrine — the  accept- 
ance of  some  established  intellectual  construction  of 
faith,  on  which  emphasis  needs  to  be  laid.  Soundness 
in  faith  is  that  on  which  Christianity  and  the  Church 
depend  for  their  very  being;  but  the  construction  of 

[197] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christian  doctrine  is  one  of  the  tasks  at  which  Chris- 
tian intelligence  must  freely  labor,  respecting,  no  doubt, 
but  never  bound  by,  the  efforts  or  attainments  of  the 
past. 

"This,  it  may  be  said,  is  generally  admitted,  and  in 
one  sense  this  is  true.  It  is  admitted  by  individuals. 
The  vast  majority  of  the  members  of  the  evangelical 
churches  occupy  practically  the  position  described.  They 
are  loyal  to  Christ:  their  attitude  to  him  is  essentially 
the  New  Testament  attitude ;  they  acknowledge  that  in 
their  spiritual  life  it  is  his  to  determine  everything,  and 
that  they  are  infinitely  and  forever  his  debtors.  But 
to  a  large  extent,  and  to  an  extent  which  increases  as 
the  mind  realizes  its  independence  in  other  regions,  and 
cherishes  ideals  of  what  science  and  freedom  mean,  they 
have  lost  interest  in  the  traditional  theology.  It  is  not 
that  they  actively  disapprove  of  it  or  dissent  from  it, 
but  they  do  not  think  of  it.  It  is  not  their  own,  and 
they  have  a  dim  or  a  clear  conviction  that  anjrthing  of 
this  kind,  if  it  is  to  have  interest  or  value  for  them, 
must  be  their  own.  It  must  be  their  own  faith  which 
inspires  it,  the  action  of  their  own  minds  which  is  em- 
bodied in  it.  It  cannot  be  simply  lifted,  as  an  inheri- 
tance, or  submitted  to,  as  a  law;  it  must  be  the  free 
and  spontaneous  product  of  an  intelligence  energized 
by  faith  in  Christ.  Individual  Christians  understand 
this,  and  that  is  why  they  sometimes  seem  so  indiffer- 
ent to  doctrines.  Preachers  understand  it,  and  try  to 
present  to  their  hearers,  not  doctrines  about  Christ, 
but  Christ  himself — ^not  doctrines  about  Christ,  for  doc- 
trine always  challenges  skepticism,  and  skepticism  the 
more  searching  in  proportion  as  its  claim  to  authority 
is  high,  but  Christ  himself,  the  sight  of  whom  is  the 

[198] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

supreme  appeal  and  motive  to  faith.  But  though  in- 
dividual Christians,  and  not  only  those  who  listen  to 
the  gospel,  but  those  who  preach  it,  are  conscious  of 
this  distinction  and  accept  its  consequences,  the  churches 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  done  so.  They  are  Christian 
organizations,  yet  they  seem  to  be  based  on  doctrinal 
statements  which  most  of  their  members  have  realized 
are  not  the  actual  or  the  proper  basis  of  Christian  life; 
and  they  not  only  find  it  difficult  to  conceive  any  other 
basis,  but  seem  to  suspect  those  who  speak  of  another 
of  striking  at  the  very  heart  of  the  faith.  This  want 
of  accord  between  the  intellectual  attitude  of  the 
churches  acting  collectively,  and  that  of  their  individ- 
ual members,  is  the  cause  not  only  of  much  discomfort 
and  misunderstanding  within,  but  of  much  scandal  and 
reproach  without.  It  seriously  discredits  the  Church 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world  to  which  it  wishes  to  appeal, 
and  it  is  urgent  to  ask  whether  there  is  any  remedy 
for  it. 

"The  responsibilities  of  a  society,  it  must  be  frankly 
admitted,  are  other  than  those  of  its  individual  mem- 
bers. It  is  inevitably  more  conservative  than  they;  it 
has  to  guard  in  some  sense  what  the  labors  of  the  past 
have  won,  and  not  allow  the  historical  inheritance  to 
be  repudiated  or  cast  away  by  the  juvenile  petulance  of 
those  who  know  neither  what  it  means  nor  what  it  has 
cost.  Christian  thought  has  been  at  work  for  centuries 
on  the  object  and  the  experience  of  Christian  faith,  and 
it  would  be  more  than  strange  if  all  its  toil  has  been  in 
vain.  There  is  a  just  and  proper  jealousy  of  an  atti- 
tude to  the  past  which  virtually  denies  to  it  the  presence 
and  the  providence  of  God,  and  assumes  that  where  it 
is  concerned  we  have  everything  to  teach  and  nothing 

[199] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  learn.  This  is  not  at  all  the  attitude  which  we  advo- 
cate when  we  urge  that  the  intelligence  of  the  Church 
in  the  present  must  be  allowed  free  play.  It  is  the 
denial  of  this  freedom  which  more  than  anything  else 
makes  men  unjust  to  the  past.  Nothing  creates  a 
stronger  prejudice  against  a  creed,  especially  if  it  is 
of  any  high  degree  of  elaboration,  than  the  necessity 
of  signing  it  as  a  condition  of  membership  or  of  minis- 
try in  the  Church.  The  main  fact  about  it  in  those 
circumstances — ^that  which  weighs  most  upon  the  mind 
— is  that  it  is  imposed  as  a  law  upon  faith;  and  the 
feelings  which  this  infallibly  engenders  are  those  of 
resentment  and  suspicion.  It  is  not  paradoxical,  but 
the  simple  truth,  to  say  the  influence  of  documents  like 
the  Westminster  Confession,  for  example,  or  even  the 
Thirty-Nine  Articles,  in  the  churches  which  require 
their  office-bearers  to  sign  them,  would  not  only  be 
more  legitimate  but  indefinitely  greater  if  subscription 
were  abolished.  Men  would  then  apply  themsdves 
freely  to  those  historical  expositions  of  Christianity  with 
minds  willing  to  be  helped,  not  in  a  suspicious  temper, 
or  in  the  attitude  of  self-defense ;  they  would  value  them 
more  highly  and  learn  far  more  from  them ;  they  would 
not  be  tempted  to  strain  them  into  meaning  what  they 
were  not  intended  to  mean,  so  as  to  make  subscription 
less  of  a  burden  to  conscience.  To  say  this  is  not  to 
accuse  the  mind  of  childishness;  it  is  only  to  recognize 
facts  which  every  day's  experience  confirms. 

"In  spite,  however,  of  all  their  responsibilities  and 
obligations  to  the  past — in  spite  of  the  duty  incumbent 
on  them  to  conserve  its  intellectual  as  well  as  its  moral 
attainments — the  pressure  put  upon  the  churches,  both 
from  without  and  within,  to  recognize  the  claims  of  in- 

[200] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tellectual  liberty,  is  rapidly  becoming  irresistible.  Chris- 
tian people,  who  are  consciously  at  one  in  their  attitude 
to  Christ  and  in  their  sense  of  obligation  to  him,  see 
that  they  are  kept  in  different  communions,  and  inca- 
pacitated from  cooperation  in  work  and  worship,  because 
they  have  inherited  diflPerent  theological  traditions  to 
which  they  are  assumed  to  be  bound.  Without  entering 
into  any  discussion  of  what  these  theological  traditions 
— call  them  creeds,  confessions,  testimonies,  or  whatever 
else — are  worth,  they  feel  in  their  souls  that  they  are  not 
bound  to  them,  and  ought  not  to  be,  with  the  same  kind 
of  bond  which  secures  their  allegiance  to  Christ.  For 
the  sake  of  getting  nearer  to  those  who  share  this  al- 
legiance and  cooperating  with  them  in  the  service  of 
the  Lord  who  holds  their  hearts,  they  contemplate  with 
more  than  equanimity  the  slackening  or  dissolution  of 
the  bonds  which  attach  them  to  the  theology,  or,  if  we 
prefer  to  call  it  so,  the  Christian  thought  of  the  past. 
They  will  think  for  themselves  as  they  can  or  must,  but 
the  primary  necessity,  if  not  the  one  thing  needful,  is 
the  Christian  attitude  of  the  soul  to  Christ,  and  union 
with  all  who  make  that  attitude  their  own.  Internal 
pressure  of  this  kind  is  reinforced  from  without.  In 
every  country  in  Christendom  the  nation  has  outgrown 
the  Church,  or  has  to  a  large  extent  passed  from  be- 
neath its  influence.  Even  of  those  who  retain  connec- 
tion with  it,  frequenting  its  worship  and  formally  sup- 
porting it  before  the  world,  vast  numbers  are  mentally 
in  that  strained  relation  to  it  wliich  has  just  been  de- 
scribed. It  is  not  necessary  to  diagnose  too  narrowly 
the  causes  which  have  led  to  the  estrangement  from  the 
Church  of  such  masses  of  those  who  once  found  in  it  a 
spiritual  home,  and  still  less  to  suppose  that  they  all  lie 

[201] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  the  regions  with  which  we  are  dealing;  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  readjustments  must  be  made  here  before  those 
who  have  been  alienated  can  be  won  again.  It  is  cer- 
tain also  that  before  Christians  can  combine  to  face  with 
effect  the  problems  presented  by  society  to  the  spirit 
of  Christ  they  must  overcome  somehow  the  forces  which 
perpetuate  division  among  themselves.  The  important 
question  is  whether  they  can  find  the  true  principle  of 
union.  If  the  conclusions  which  we  have  reached  are 
sound,  it  must  be  a  principle  which  will  secure  the  two 
ends  we  have  now  before  us — that  is,  which  will  bind 
men  to  the  Christian  attitude  to  Christ,  but  which  will 
leave  them,  thus  bound,  free  to  assume  and  discharge 
their  intellectual  and  moral  responsibilities  with  a  con- 
science acknowledging  no  authority  but  that  of  the  God 
in  whom  they  believe  through  him. 

"It  is  very  natural  that  the  first  steps  toward  the 
recognition  of  such  a  principle  should  be  hesitating  and 
uncertain.  Churches  which  have  inherited  complex  and 
elaborate  creeds — creeds  which,  though  they  may  be 
called  confessions  of  faith,  are  not  really  confessions  of 
faith,  but  more  or  less  complete  systems  of  theology — 
are  apt  to  think  that  it  is  in  the  complexity  and  elabora- 
tion of  their  confessions  that  the  difficulty  lies.  Their 
first  thought  is  that  what  we  need  for  union  among 
Christians  is  the  reduction  or  simplification  of  our  elab- 
orate creeds.  Why,  for  example,  it  is  asked,  should  we 
cling  to  the  Westminster  Confession,  a  document  con- 
taining hundreds  of  sharply  defined  propositions,  about 
many  of  which  there  is  no  prospect  of  Christians  ever 
agreeing?  Why  should  we  not  recognize  that  it  is  hope- 
less to  expect  union  on  this  basis,  and  go  back  to  a  sub- 
lime and  simple  formula  like  the   creed  of  Nicaea? 

[  202  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Would  not  all  Christians  gather  round  that?  This  has 
not  only  been  ventilated  as  a  possibility,  but  has  been 
definitely  proposed  as  the  doctrinal  basis  of  union  be- 
tween the  Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians  of  Aus- 
tralia. 

"Plausible  as  this  may  sound,  it  is  plausible  only  to 
those  who  have  never  appreciated  the  nature  of  the  difii- 
culty  which  has  to  be  dealt  with.  What  we  want  as  a 
basis  of  union  is  not  something  simpler,  of  the  same 
kind  as  the  creeds  and  confessions  in  our  hands;  it  is 
something  of  a  radically  different  kind.  To  simplify 
merely  by  going  back  from  the  seventeenth  century  to 
the  fourth  is  certainly  an  easy  matter,  but  what  a  con- 
temptuous censure  it  passes  on  the  Christian  thought 
of  the  centuries  between.  When  a  man  speaks  of  giving 
up  the  Westminster  Confession  for  the  Nicene  Creed, 
one  can  only  think  that  he  has  no  true  appreciation  of 
either.  The  Westminster  Confession  contains  every- 
thing that  is  in  the  Nicene  Creed,  but  the  writer  has  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  this  is  the  least  valuable  part 
of  what  it  contains,  and  that  which  has  least  prospect  of 
permanence.  The  valuable  parts  of  the  Confession, 
those  which  still  appeal  to  the  Christian  conscience  and 
awaken  a  response  in  it,  are  the  new  parts — those 
which  represent  the  gains  of  the  Reformation  revival 
and  the  insight  into  Christian  truth  acquired  there ;  they 
are  the  parts  which  treat  of  the  work  of  Christ  and  its 
consequences — of  justification,  adoption  and  sanctifica- 
tion ;  of  saving  faith  and  repentance  unto  life ;  of  Chris- 
tian liberty  and  liberty  of  conscience ;  of  Holy  Scripture, 
or  the  Word  of  God,  as  the  supreme  means  of  grace. 
To  simplify  the  creed  by  omitting  everything  which  can 
be  verified  in  experience,  and  then  to  expect  men  to 

[203] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

unite  in  the  purely  metaphysical  proposition — for  what- 
ever religious  interest  it  is  supposed  to  guard,  it  is  a 
purely  metaphysical  proposition — that  Christ  is  con- 
substantial  with  the  Father,  is  only  to  show  that  one 
has  not  diagnosed  the  situation  at  all.  Very  few  peo- 
ple can  tell  what  Athanasius  and  the  Nicene  bishops 
meant  by  this  term.  No  one  knows  whether  all  who 
use  it  now  use  it  in  precisely  the  same  sense ;  or  rather, 
it  is  as  certain  as  anything  can  be  that  they  do  not. 
Every  one  feels  that  it  is  on  something  else  than  the 
understanding  of  such  metaphysical  propositions  that 
the  life  and  union  of  Christians  depend;  and  it  is  this 
something  else,  and  not  what  any  one  regards  as  its 
metaphysical  basis  or  presupposition,  which  ought  to 
find  expression  in  the  common  Christian  confession  of 
faith.  It  is  their  attitude  to  Christ  which  Christians 
have  to  declare,  and  Christ  can  only  be  described  in 
their  confession  in  the  character  which  justifies  that 
attitude.  He  can  only  be  described  in  the  simple  lan- 
guage of  religion.  What  for  theology  or  metaphysics 
is  involved  in  this  is  a  proper  subject  for  theological  or 
metaphysical  study;  but  it  ought  not  to  have  a  place, 
and  if  Christians  are  ever  to  unite  it  will  not  have  a 
place,  in  the  confession  of  faith  in  which  they  declare 
the  attitude  of  their  souls  to  him. 

"But,  it  may  be  said,  is  it  possible  to  separate  in  this 
way  the  Christian  attitude  to  Christ  from  definite  be- 
liefs and  convictions  about  him?  Did  not  he  himself 
raise  the  question  of  Christology  when  he  said  to  his 
disciples,  'Whom  say  ye  that  I  am?'  When  we  ask 
men  to  believe  in  him,  must  we  not  be  able  to  tell  them 
things  about  him  which  demand  or  justify  the  faith 
for  which  we  appeal?    When  they  ask  who  then  the 

[  204  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Person  is  for  whom  so  incomparable  a  place  is  claimed, 
must  we  not  be  able  to  te]l  them  in  direct  and  express 
terms?  And  in  particular,  it  may  be  said,  how  is  the 
work  of  Christian  education  to  be  carried  on?  How  are 
the  immature  members  of  a  Christian  community  to  be 
reared  in  Christian  intelligence  if  there  is  not  some  doc- 
trinal system  on  the  basis  of  which  they  can  be  cate- 
chized? 

"All  these  are  fair  questions,  and  no  one  could  be  less 
disposed  than  the  writer  to  dispute  their  fairness.  What 
they  rest  upon,  in  the  last  resort,  is  the  feeling  that  the 
Christian  attitude  to  Christ,  and  a  certain  type  of  con- 
victions about  Christ,  are  not  unrelated  to  each  other. 
There  can  be  no  such  thing  as  a  final  schism  in  human 
nature,  no  possibility  of  permanently  opposing  faith 
and  knowledge,  or  of  permanently  playing  oflf  the  one 
against  the  other.  The  Christian  attitude  to  Christ, 
and  the  Christian  experiences  into  which  men  are  initi- 
ated by  it,  must,  in  proportion  as  they  are  truly  appre- 
hended in  the  mind,  lead  to  a  body  of  Christian  convic- 
tions, or  a  system  of  Christian  doctrine,  in  which  believ- 
ing men  will  find  themselves  at  one.  This  is  not  ques- 
tioned in  the  least.  What  is  at  issue  is  rather  a  question 
of  order  of  antagonism:  our  concern  is  to  see  that  we 
lay  at  the  foundation  only  what  is  fundamental,  and 
that  we  do  not  present  to  men  as  the  indispensable  pre- 
supposition of  faith  what  is  one  of  faith's  last  and  most 
difiicult  achievements.  When  we  preach,  we  must  cer- 
tainly be  able  to  tell  men  things  about  Christ  which 
justify  the  Christian  attitude  to  him.  But  these  faith- 
producing  things  are  not  dogmatic  definitions  of  his 
person:  they  are  not  doctrinal  propositions,  such  as 
those  of  the  Nicene  Creed ;  nor  are  they  less  formal  ex- 

[205] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

pressions  of  essentially  the  same  character.  They  are 
such  things  as  we  have  been  in  contact  with  all  through 
our  study  of  the  gospels :  they  are  the  life,  the  mind,  the 
death,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  If  the  exhibition  of 
these  does  not  evoke  the  Christian  attitude  of  the  soul 
to  him,  the  soundest  metaphysical  doctrine  of  his  person 
is  worthless.  But  if  the  Christian  attitude  is  evoked  by 
the  revelation  of  Jesus  in  the  gospel,  we  have  found 
that  in  which  all  Christians  can  unite,  and  the  theo- 
logical doctrine  of  his  person  may  be  trusted  sooner  or 
later  to  come  to  its  rights.  But  it  must  not  be  taken  out 
of  its  proper  place  and  order,  nor  can  we  expect  it  to 
yield  us  what  can  only  be  found  in  the  sphere  of  faith. 
The  questions  raised  by  the  Christian  attitude  to  Jesus, 
and  the  Christian's  sense  of  debt  to  him,  may  have  to  be 
asked  over  and  over,  taking  always  a  wider  range,  pene- 
trating always  more  deeply  into  the  wonder  of  what  he 
is  and  does;  and  with  the  widening  and  deepening  of 
the  questions  the  answers  too  must  vary  in  form.  That 
is  why  we  cannot  look  to  these  answers,  however  pro- 
found or  true  they  may  be,  to  furnish  the  basis  of  union 
among  Christians.  They  are  always  subject  to  re- 
vision, not  because  he  changes — ^he  is  the  same  yester- 
day and  to-day  and  forever — ^but  because  men  change 
in  their  apprehension  of  him.  And  in  such  changes,  even 
though  they  may  sometimes  be  changed  to  an  inferior 
or  less  adequate  conception  of  him,  we  must  bear  with 
each  other  so  long  as  the  attitude  of  Christian  faith  in 
him  is  maintained. 

"If  we  look  to  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament 
age,  we  shall  find  that  this  is  essentially  the  situation  in 
which  it  confronts  us.  As  has  been  demonstrated  above, 
there  is  one  religion  exhibited  in  every  part  of  the  New 

[206] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Testament;  from  beginning  to  end,  in  every  writer 
represented  in  it,  there  is  the  same  attitude  of  the  soul 
to  Christ.    In  other  words,  there  is  one  faith.    But 
though  there  is  one  faith,  there  is  not  one  Christology. 
All  the  New  Testament  writers,  it  may  no  doubt  be 
said,  have  a  Christology  of  some  kind.    Faith  always 
acts  as  an  intellectual  stimulus,  and  it  never  did  so  more 
irresistibly  than  in  the  first  generation.    When  Christ 
constrained  men  to  assume  what  we  have  called  the 
Christian  attitude  to  himself,  he  constrained  them  at  the 
same  time  to  ask  who  the  Person  was  to  whom  such 
an  attitude  was  due.     He  constrained  them  to  think 
what  his  relations  must  be  to  God  and  man,  and  even 
to  the  universe  at  large,  to  justify  the  attitude  he  as- 
sumed to  them.     But  though  these  questions  stirred 
more  or  less  powerfully,  as  they  must  always  do,  the 
intelligence  of  Christians,  it  is  impossible  for  any  scien- 
tific student  of  the  New  Testament  to  say  that  all  the 
early  believers,  or  even  all  who  were  regarded  in  the 
Church  as  divinely  empowered  witnesses  to  the  gospel, 
answered  them  in  precisely  the  same  way.    To  take  only 
one  example,  but  that  the  most  conspicuous:  Paul's  at- 
titude to  Christ  is  exactly  that  of  other  New  Testament 
writers,  but  his  Christology  is  his  own.  It  is  not  identical 
with  that  of  Peter  or  John,  or,  so  far  as  we  can  dis- 
cover it,  with  that  of  Matthew  or  Luke;  just  as  little 
is  it  identical  with  that  of  the  Nicene  Creed.    It  does 
not  follow  from  this  that  it  is  of  no  value,  or  of  no 
authority.     The  great  thoughts  about  Christ  inspired 
by  Christian  faith  in  him,  as  the  New  Testament  illus- 
trates it — ^thoughts  about  his  relations  to  Gk)d,  to  men, 
and  to  the  universe — always  tend  to  reproduce  them- 
selves in  minds  which  share  that  faith;  and  it  must  be 

[207] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

a  singularly  powerful  or  solitary  mind  which  in  its 
Christian  thoughts  about  Christ  could  own  no  debt  to 
Paul.  This  is  the  guarantee  we  have,  in  a  world  in 
which  the  mind  is  once  for  all  free,  that  the  truth  in 
Paul's  thoughts  about  Christ  will  never  be  lost.  But 
though  it  does  not  follow  from  what  has  been  said  that 
Paul's  Christology  is  of  no  value,  or  has  no  authority 
for  us,  it  does  follow  that  neither  his  nor  any  other 
Christology  can  be  the  basis  of  imion  among  Christians 
of  which  the  churches  are  in  quest.  It  was  not  Chris- 
tology in  any  sense  in  which  Christians  were  one  from 
the  beginning,  and  the  Formula  concordice  which  the 
perplexed  conscience  of  multitudes  in  all  the  churches 
is  at  present  seeking,  cannot  be  a  theological  document. 
It  must,  we  repeat,  be  a  declaration  which  will  bind  men 
to  Christ  as  believers  have  been  bound  from  the  be- 
ginning, but  which  also  leave  them  in  possession  of  the 
birthright  of  New  Testament  Christians — the  right  and 
the  power  of  applying  their  own  minds,  with  conscien- 
tious freedom,  to  search  out  the  truth  of  what  Jesus  is 
and  does,  and  to  read  all  things  in  the  light  of  it — the 
world  and  God,  nature  and  history,  the  present  and  the 
future  of  man. 

"Reserving,  then,  this  right  and  power,  it  only  re- 
mains to  ask  whether  we  can  put  the  religious  truth 
about  Jesus,  the  significance  which  he  has  for  the  faith 
of  Christians,  into  words  which  all  who  adopt  the  Chris- 
tian attitude  to  him  would  recognize  as  the  expression  of 
their  faith.  Such  words  would  not  be  doctrinal  or 
dogmatic,  in  the  sense  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  or  of  the 
Augsburg  or  the  Westminster  Confession;  they  would 
not  be  an  utterance  the  same  in  kind,  but  simpler  in 
form,  and  less  ambitious  in  aim;  they  would  be  the  im- 

[208] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mediate  utterance  of  the  Christian  sense  of  what  faith 
has  in  Christ,  not  the  speculative  or  reflective  statement 
— as  these  other  documents  all  are  in  varying  degrees 
— of  metaphysical  truths  concerning  Christ  which  must 
be  admitted  if  we  would  justify  our  faith.  The  truth 
they  embody  would  not  be  itself  a  creed,  in  the  sense 
of  a  scientific  or  theologically  defined  statement;  it 
would  not  be  the  substitute  for  a  creed ;  it  would  be  the 
inspiration  and  the  standard  of  all  Christian  thinking. 
Looking  back  to  the  investigations  which  we  have  just 
completed,  and  recalling  the  significance  which  Jesus 
had  in  his  own  mind,  and  has  always  had  in  the  minds 
of  Christians,  it  is  perhaps  not  too  bold  to  suggest  that 
the  symbol  of  the  Church's  unity  might  be  expressed 
thus:  "I  believe  in  God  through  Jesus  Christ  his  only 
Son,  our  Lord  and  Saviour." 


[209] 


AUGUST  JOHANNES  DORNER,  Ph.D.,  D.D., 

KONIGSBERG^   GERMANY 

Professor  of  systematic  theology  at  Konigsberg,  Germany, 
since  1889;  born  at  Schiltach,  May  13,  1846;  studied  at 
Gottingen^  Tiibingen,  and  Berlin;  vikar  to  the  German 
congregation  in  Lyons  and  Marseilles,  1869;  lecturer  at 
Gottingen,  1870-73;  professor  and  co-director  of  the  theo- 
logical seminary  at  Wittenberg,  1874-89;  editor  of  his 
father's  System  der  christlichen  Sittenlehre  and  Brief wech- 
sel  zwischen  H.  L.  Martensen  and  I.  A.  Dornerj  author 
of  De  Baconis  philosophia;  Augustinus,  seine  theologische 
und  seine  religions philosophische  Anschauungj  Ueber  die 
Prinzipien  der  Kant'schen  Ethik;  Predigten  vom  Reiche 
Gottes;  Kirche  und  Reich  Gottes;  Das  menschliche  Erken- 
nen;  Das  menschliche  Handeln,  philosophische  Ethik; 
Grundriss  der  Dogmengeschichte ;  Grundriss  der  Encyklo- 
paedie  der  Theologie;  Zur  Geschichte  des  sittlichen  Den- 
kens  und  Lebens;  Grundriss  der  Religionsphilosophie ; 
Grundprobleme  der  Religionsphilosophie ;  Individuelle  und 
soziale  Ethik;  Die  Entstehung  der  christlichen  Glaubens- 
lehren;  Encyklopddie  der  Philosophic;  Pessimismus,  Niet- 
zsche, und  Naturalismus;  Metaphysik  des  Christentums, 

The  reason  why  many  are  indifferent  to  the  Church  is 
partly  irreligion,  partly  mistrust  of  theology,  and  partly 
the  idea  that  membership  in  a  church  and  righteousness 
are  not  necessarily  inseparable.  As  exemplified  in 
Abraham  Lincoln  there  are  many  people  who  do  not 
wish  to  commit  themselves  to  any  particular  church  be- 
cause they  cannot  agree  with  everything  in  the  Christian 
teaching.  I  believe,  however,  that  here  are  some  deep- 
rooted  antinomies  which  were  first  revealed  by  Prot- 
estantism. Richard  Rothe  saw  in  Protestantism  the 
dissolution  of  the  Church  in  the  State.  He  argued  that 
the  fostering  of  the  purely  religious  life,  such  as  the 
Church  desired,  neglected  the  moral  life;  that  is,  the 

[210] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

religiously  moral  life  which  is  represented  in  the  com- 
plete ethical  life.  It  is  indeed  difficult  to  say  what  other 
task  the  Church  should  have  than  the  fostering  of  the 
religious  life.  The  righteous  life  has  now  made  itself 
independent,  and  the  belief  is  that  the  ethical  life  can 
also  be  fostered  without  religion,  or  at  least  without  the 
Church,  as  is  shown  by  Frankreich's  school  system  (cf. 
my  "History  of  Moral  Thought  and  Life") . 

The  antinomy  which  oppresses  every  church  is,  how- 
ever, particularly  shown  in  that  opposition  between  an 
inner  righteousness  which  is  represented  by  Protestant- 
ism and  which  must  be  free,  and  a  righteousness  for 
the  fostering  of  free  opinion  in  an  organized  institution 
with  statutory  orderliness,  with  a  fixed  worship,  an 
ecclesiastical  polity,  and  an  established  confession — a 
condition  which  by  these  means  forces  righteousness 
into  certain  forms.  It  is  the  antinomy  which  always 
exists  between  spiritual  freedom  and  the  mechanism  of 
the  statutory,  which,  if  it  exist,  always  has  the  tendency 
to  become  self-seeking  and  to  suppress  the  freedom 
which  it  should  foster.  This  antinomy  has  not  thus  far 
been  resolved ;  it  is  therefore  comprehensible  why  many 
claim  that  the  Church  as  an  organized  institution  is  not 
necessary.  This  is  particularly  true  of  that  Protes- 
tantism which  had  written  on  its  banner  the  freedom 
of  the  Christian,  and  yet  became  unfaithful  to  its  prin- 
ciple when  it  organized  itself  into  a  pedagogical  church. 
The  fostering  of  the  religious  life  can  find  a  place  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  on  the  intellectual  side  through 
theoretical  discussion,  by  which  we  enrich  one  another; 
on  the  esthetic  side  through  art;  on  the  emotional  side 
through  family  and  friendships,  where  also  complete 
reciprocal  spiritual  care  can  alone  attain  its  fullest 

[211] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

meaning.  A  false  narrowness  need  be  feared  here  the 
less  in  proportion  as  righteousness  combines  itself  with 
sufficient  culture. 

There  have,  no  doubt,  always  been  people  who  have 
not  held  it  necessary  to  belong  to  a  church,  who  were 
nevertheless  in  no  way  willing  to  give  up  the  idea  of  a 
imiversal  kingdom  of  God  or  to  cease  to  labor  for  its 
coming.  In  fact,  it  is  questionable  if  an  organized 
church  lay  in  the  mind  of  Jesus;  and  it  is  doubly  diffi- 
cult to  maintain  the  claim  that  every  one  must  belong 
to  a  particular  church  when  in  fact  we  have  only  many 
partial  churches,  and  no  church  embracing  all  mankind, 
of  which  only  an  idea  remains  and  which  only  too  easily 
misleads  into  identifying  this  idea  with  one  of  the  partial 
churches.  Actual  development  has  shown  that  the  prin- 
ciple of  individualism  in  Protestantism  has  brought 
forth  such  an  abundance  of  denominations  that  the  hope, 
for  a  return  to  a  universal  church  is  very  slight,  while 
surely  no  Christian  would  dispute  the  uni^rersality  of 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

What,  however,  particularly  affects  the  relation  of 
the  churches  as  regards  the  general  ethical  life,  which 
has  culture  as  its  consequence  and  concentrates  itself  in 
the  State,  is  that  one  church  claims  superiority  over 
the  State,  and  becomes  worldly  because  it  interests  itself 
in  all  sorts  of  problems  that  are  foreign  to  religion. 
Others  become  instrumenta  regni,  lose  their  independ- 
ence and  no  longer  foster  religious  thought  as  their 
proper  sphere.  Others  again,  being  independent,  turn 
away  from  culture  and  the  State  and  fall  into  dan- 
gerous narrowness. 

It  is  because  of  this  that  Protestantism  makes  the 
belief  in  a  direct  relation  to  God  the  central  point,  and 

[212] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  proportion  as  the  inner  character  of  the  belief  asserts 
itself,  the  personal  feeling  of  responsibility  develops 
itself,  and  the  sense  of  truth  pushes  itself  energetically 
to  the  fore,  the  more  justified  is  the  supposition  that 
the  interests  of  the  Church  will  recede.  For  the  Church 
is  inclined  to  act  as  guardian  in  the  matter  of  free 
knowledge  as  well  as  that  of  free  action.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  reverence  for  the  Church  will  arise  in  a  cer- 
tain dependence  upon  the  Church  by  the  pious  person 
who  desires  some  objective  guarantee,  or  hopes  to  im- 
prove himself  through  the  influence  of  the  common 
life;  so  that  naturally  it  comes  to  be  supposed  that  the 
Church  has  control  over  a  religious  vigor  which  the  in- 
dividual does  not  possess  but  which  would  be  of  service. 
The  Church  has  been  designated  as  a  community  of  be- 
lieving persons.  But  if  under  community  of  belief  is  un- 
derstood the  strengthening  of  belief  through  mutual  ex- 
position, there  will  again  be  required  statutory  methods 
for  such  exposition  of  Holy  Scripture  or  of  symbolism, 
just  as  the  Confessio  August  ana  took  Word  and  sac- 
rament for  their  definition  of  the  Church.  These  stat- 
utory methods,  however,  become  themselves  objects  of 
belief,  and  in  this  way  belief  becomes  again  belief  in 
means  of  grace.  Here  the  danger  is  that  direct  relation 
to  God  will  be  displaced  by  all  sorts  of  intercessory  meth- 
ods having  a  fixed  or  statutory  character,  which  may 
stimulate  and  invigorate,  but  may  also  easily  weaken  the 
feeling  of  personaV  responsibility.  The  extreme  point 
of  this  weakening  shows  itself  when  the  sacraments  are 
held  to  operate  ea^  opere  operato,  or  when  Scripture 
is  to  be  interpreted  only  through  the  Church  and  her 
creeds. 

Because  of  this  Fichte  speaks  of  churches  that  met 

[213] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

some  need ;  and  one  must  admit  that  an  Abraham  Lin- 
coln surely  had  a  moral  right  to  abstain  from  joining 
any  existing  church  if  it  did  not  satisfy  his  sense  of 
truth.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  who  feel  com- 
fortable in  their  church,  and  here  the  question  could 
be  raised  whether  in  consideration  of  these  it  should  be 
insisted  upon  that  every  one  remain  in  his  "partial 
church"  and  take  it  as  it  is,  or  whether  it  is  a  duty  to 
stand  in  a  critical  attitude  toward  the  church  to  which 
one  desires  to  belong.  This  question  will  be  answered 
variously,  according  to  the  point  of  view  which  a  church 
takes.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  one  which  claims 
authority,  and  those  who  consciously  belong  to  her  take 
the  position  that  this  church  has  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
that  they  must  therefore  obey  her.  The  Protestants 
deny  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  assert  her  need 
for  improvement,  and  are  consequently  under  obli- 
gation to  work  together  for  her  improvement  as  far 
as  possible.  Here,  however,  is  again  presented  the 
difficulty  that,  once  a  religious  organization  with 
statutory  regulation  is  established,  a  tendency  to 
improve  it  will  be  resented  as  a  rebellion  against 
the  authority  of  that  Church.  In  this  regard  there 
is  a  difference  between  Germany  and  North  Amer- 
ica and  England.  In  the  latter  countries  the  attempt 
toward  improvement,  particularly  if  there  is  a  new 
individualistic  modification  of  Christianity  connected 
with  it,  generally  leads  to  new  religious  institu- 
tions. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  among  certain  de- 
nominations there  have  been  formed  confederations 
(Pan-Presbyterian  Council,  Evangelical  Alliance,  and 
others),  within  any  definite  denomination  complete  as- 
sent to  its  specific  acquirements  is  desired,  and  each 

[214] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

denomination  fortifies  itself  in  its  nuances  and  permits 
small  freedom  of  movement  within  its  narrow  bomid- 
aries.  It  was  just  this  that  led  Lincoln  to  make  his 
reservation.  In  Germany  on  the  contrary  the  tendency, 
in  spite  of  differences,  is  to  hold  fast  to  the  solidarity  of 
the  State  churches,  which  at  the  same  time  are  to  be  the 
churches  of  the  people.  Here,  however,  arise  diffi- 
culties in  regard  to  establishing  the  extent  of  the  ac- 
knowledged differences.  This  has  been  caused  by  the 
fact  that  the  difference  between  the  essential  and  the 
circumstantial  has  been  introduced  into  the  conduct  of 
affairs.  But  there  is  also  a  strong  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  what  is  essential;  and  if  appeal  is  made  to  Scrip- 
ture and  creeds  to  determine  this,  the  result  is  to  raise 
up  critics  of  both,  so  that  there  again  dispute  arises  as 
to  what  is  really  determinative  in  Scripture  and  creeds. 
Then  too  a  more  extended  belief  is  demanded  of  the 
clergy  than  of  the  laity,  although  the  theologian  feels 
the  difficulties  much  more  keenly.  He  to  whom  these 
controversies  concerning  belief  are  repugnant  feels  him- 
self estranged  from  the  Church. 

If  here  it  were  desired  to  find  an  outlet  by  permit- 
ting freedom  of  conviction  to  every  one  through  render- 
ing the  statutory  as  elastic  as  possible — perhaps  by  the 
adoption  of  alternative  formulas  in  the  liturgy  and  else- 
where, or  by  admitting  free  discussion — it  would  be 
said:  the  Church  already  possesses  certain  truths  which 
she  cannot  give  up;  science  only  seeks  truth,  and  may 
therefore  admit  discussion.  Here,  once  more,  the  result 
is  that  for  the  individual  the  difference  between  scien- 
tific interests  and  religion  becomes  negligible,  because 
he  can  adjust  himself  between  the  two  according  to  his 
point  of  view.     The  Church,  however,  through  her 

[215] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

creeds  fetters  the  spirit  and,  at  the  least,  hampers  a 
reconciliation  of  differences. 

Only  then  can  a  general  agreement  be  reached  on 
which  a  universal  church  can  be  built,  if  not  the  positive 
and  the  historical  (over  which  in  the  sphere  of  religion 
there  will  always  be  bickering)  be  made  essential,  but 
rather  that  which  is  generally  valid  in  religion  and  which 
every  one  can  freely  appropriate  to  himself — the  direct 
relation  to  God.  This  is  what  was  originally  intended 
by  natural  religion,  and  what  was  meant  when  a  gen- 
erally valid  ideal  of  religion  was  spoken  of,  or  when 
the  general  validity  of  the  truth  contained  in  religion 
was  referred  to.  Such  a  religion  also  could  not  get  into 
any  quarrel  with  science,  except  perhaps,  at  most,  with 
certain  one-sided  scientific  conclusions.  If  it  be  denied 
that  there  can  be  an  ideal  of  religion  that  is  universally 
valid,  or  that  there  is  a  recognizable  universally  valid 
truth  contained  in  religion,  then  unity  cannot  be 
achieved  in  the  sphere  of  religion.  If  the  thesis  is 
insisted  upon  that  the  contents  of  religion  cannot  be 
recognized  as  truth,  then  again  unity  will  not  be  at- 
tainable, because  in  that  case  the  most  diverse  religious 
assertions  will  be  regarded  as  truth.  Or,  once  more, 
dependence  might  have  to  be  placed  on  such  experience 
as  is  obtainable  by  every  one.  In  this  case  it  would 
either  be  necessary  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  consent 
of  the  will  and  to  furnish  arbitrarily  religion  based  on 
the  authority  of  claim  to  general  validity,  wherein  the 
unproved  authority  of  the  revelation  should  be  vindi- 
cated, or  it  would  have  to  be  shown  that  some  definite 
religion  answer  the  ideal  of  religion.  Such  an  ideal 
of  religion,  established  on  the  reasonable  nature  of  the 
people,  must,  however,  be  recognized.    And  when  this 

[216] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

has  been  attained,  since  religion  has  nothing  to  do  with 
illusions,  it  would  be  further  acknowledged  that  the  idea 
of  God  is  also  attainable  for  us;  that  is,  there  must 
be  a  rational,  even  if  restricted,  knowledge  of  God. 
It  will  then  be  seen  that  this  knowledge  agrees  with 
the  fundamentals  of  science. 

If,  however,  the  absolute  incognizability  of  God 
were  insisted  upon,  it  would  lead  to  a  double  truth — 
for  the  religious  the  deity  would  be  an  irrefutable  truth, 
and  for  the  man  of  science  it  would  at  best  be  a  matter 
of  doubt.  It  would  then  be  necessary  to  feign  belief 
in  the  existence  of  God,  and  such  skepticism  would 
cripple  piety,  which  is  more  the  case  in  present-day 
Protestantism. 

If  a  religion  could  be  attained  which  contains  a 
universally  valid  truth  and  corresponded  to  a  uni- 
versally valid  ideal  of  religion,  full  ecclesiastical  fellow- 
ship would  also  be  possible.  But  is  this  absolutely 
necessary?  This  question  cannot  be  answered  off-hand 
in  the  affirmative,  since  the  Church  would  always  re- 
main only  a  means  for  the  fostering  of  religious  thought 
that  might  perhaps  be  replaced  by  other  means.  But 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  such  a  religion  would  neces- 
sarily demand  a  communion  of  spirits  who  would  in  all 
dealings  acknowledge  their  ideas  as  God-given. 

We  are,  however,  far  from  this  goal,  although  new 
efforts  are  continually  being  put  forth  to  make  Chris- 
tianity, or  at  least  the  Christian  principle,  a  universally 
valid  and  rational  religion.  And  so,  in  view  of  this 
fact,  we  must  be  satisfied  with  admitting  that  there  will 
always  be  Christians  for  whom  the  boundaries  of  any 
positive  church  will  be  too  narrow,  and  that  it  must  be 
impressed  on  the  existing  churches  that  it  is  their  duty, 

[217] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

with  such  means  as  are  at  their  disposal,  to  foster  a 
personal  piety,  to  prepare  mankind  for  a  religious- 
ethical  maturity  that  shall  further  belief  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  that  man  must  more  and  more  make  statutory 
methods  means  to  freedom,  and  at  last  admit  that  God 
alone  can  create  men  anew,  and  that  the  Church  can 
only  incite  thereto. 


[218] 


MILTON   G.   EVANS,   D.D., 

CHESTER,   PA. 

President  and  professor  of  comparative  theology  at  the 
Crozer  Theological  Seminary  since  1909;  born  near  Ebens- 
burg,  Pa.,  Dec.  7,  1862;  educated  at  Bucknell  University, 
Pa.,  and  graduated  from  Crozer  Theological  Seminary; 
teacher  at  the  Keystone  Academy,  Factoryville,  Pa.,  1883- 
87;  instructor  in  Hebrew,  Crozer  Theological  Seminary, 
1890-95;  professor  of  biblical  theology,  1895-1907;  pro- 
fessor of  Christian  theology,  1907-9;  dean  of  the  faculty, 
1906-9. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  symposium  I  define  the  Church 
as  a  group  of  individuals  more  or  less  consciously  re- 
lated by  Christian  sentiments  and  interests.  The  ad- 
jective Christian  affirms  that  Christ  is  the  historically 
conditioning  cause  of  social  groups  called  churches. 
That  is,  a  Christian  Church  consists  of  persons  religious 
enough  to  see  in  Christ  God's  method  of  mediating 
values  in  human  experience.  The  experienced  values 
are  redemptive  and  remedial.  In  Christ  a  new  divine 
force  was  introduced  into  history.  He  invited  men  to 
cooperate  with  him  in  overcoming  evil.  When  a  few 
had  accepted  the  invitation,  and  had  set  to  work  to  make 
their  choices  effective,  the  kingdom  of  evil  had  virtually 
come  to  an  end.  To  wish  to  assist  in  its  overthrow,  in 
however  slight  a  degree,  with  the  conviction  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  alone  potential  in  the  process,  is  to  put  one  on 
his  side. 

It  is  some  sort  of  apprehension  of  what  Christ  is  and 
does  (even  though  the  apprehension  be  unreflecting 
credulity) ,  and  trust  in  him  for  values  desired,  that  dif- 
ferentiate Christian  beliefs  from  beliefs  of  adherents 

[219] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  other  religions.  That  is,  as  the  idea  of  God  is  regula- 
tive in  philosophic  theism,  so  the  idea  of  Christ  is  reg- 
ulative in  Christian  philosophy;  and  in  a  Christian  phi- 
losophy he  is  interpreted  wholly  as  God's  redemptive 
and  remedial  activity  both  in  the  individual  and  in  the 
race. 

In  this  redemptive  process  creeds  and  ceremonies 
are  conserving  and  educative  forces.  They  are  the  stiff- 
ening factors  in  the  "Christianizing  of  the  social  order," 
and  thus  secure  continuity  of  development.  In  other 
words,  the  perpetuity  and  extension  of  the  Church  as  a 
social  institution  are  conditioned  on  the  Bible,  credal 
definitions  and  ritual  worship.  But  to  make  sacred 
books  and  creeds  and  rites  authoritative  for  thought  and 
conduct  is  to  substitute  the  means  for  the  end,  the  husk 
for  the  kernel,  the  body  for  the  soul.  Whatever  real 
authority  Scripture  and  creeds  may  have,  their  author- 
ity is  derived  from  the  reality  of  that  authority  that 
evokes  impulses  to  write  sacred  books,  to  formulate 
confessions  of  faith,  and  to  perform  ceremonies.  To 
the  Christian  this  primal  originating  authority  is  Christ. 

In  history,  the  New  Testament,  the  creeds,  and 
the  Christian  institutions  of  every  sort  are  modes  by 
which  Christ  discloses  the  nature  and  the  sphere  of  his 
authority.  The  modes  are  conditioned  by  the  fact  of 
relativity  in  time  and  place  of  disclosure.  This  fact  of 
relativity  makes  it  impossible  that  Christian  doctrines 
should  stand  in  isolation  from  the  scientific,  political, 
social,  ethical,  and  philosophical  beliefs  that  environ 
them.  Hence,  the  constantly  recurring  necessity  of  re- 
stating Christian  experiences  in  terms  of  their  relation 
to  a  total  world-view.  Accordingly,  each  generation 
must  interpret  for  itself  the  value  of  sacred  books  and 

[  220  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  validity  of  creeds  and  ceremonies.  The  only  regula- 
tive idea  in  each  recurring  interpretation  is  Christ,  the 
power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God  for  spiritual  and 
moral  ends. 


[  2^21  ] 


IRVING   FISHER,   Ph.D., 

NEW   HAVEN^   CONN. 

Professor  of  political  economy  at  Yale  University  since 
1898;  born  at  Saugerties,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  27,  1867;  received 
his  education  at  Yale  University,  Berlin,  and  Paris;  tutor 
of  mathematics  at  Yale,  1890-93;  assistant  professor  of 
mathematics,  1893-95;  assistant  professor  of  political 
economy,  1895-98;  editor  of  the  Yale  Review,  1896- 
1910 ;  author  of  Mathematical  Investigations  in  the  Theory 
of  Value  and  Prices;  Elements  of  Geometry  (with  Prof. 
A.  W.  Phillips)  ;  A  Brief  Introduction  to  the  Infinitesimal 
Calculus;  The  Nature  of  Capital  and  Income;  The  Rate 
of  Interest;  National  Vitality;  The  Purchasing  Porver  of 
Money;  Elementary  Principles  of  Economics. 

I  AGREE  most  emphatically  with  the  quotation  from 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  think  that  the  Church  will  reach 
its  greatest  usefulness  when  the  requirement  for  ad- 
mission is  a  declaration  of  intention  to  live  a  righteous 
life  and  to  help  others,  including,  of  course,  a  reverent 
attitude  toward  the  divine.  I  believe  that  whatever  is 
merely  traditional  in  religion  must  ultimately  give  way 
to  the  rational,  and  that  it  is  possible  for  science  to 
provide  the  foundation  for  a  religious  attitude  of  mind 
as  well  as  to  provide  indications  of  the  proper  endeavors 
for  men  imbued  with  the  religious  spirit.  I  have  a 
course  at  Yale  in  which  I  have  tried  to  develop  this 
idea,  using  as  one  of  the  bases  the  great  book  of  Pro- 
fessor Shaler,  Man  and  the  Earthy  in  which,  from  a 
purely  scientific  point  of  view,  he  emphasizes  the  impor- 
tance of  the  consecration  of  the  present  generation  to 
the  interests  of  posterity.  I  think  it  is  fair  to  say  also 
that  the  great  scientist.  Sir  Francis  Galton,  in  founding 
eugenics,  had  the  same  religious  feeling.    Similarly,  the 

[222] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

religious  instincts  of  Gifford  Pinchot  and  Sir  Horsuce 
Plunkett  are  given  their  field  of  activity  through  the 
revelations  of  science  as  to  the  needs  of  conservation, 
improvements  in  rural  life  and  happiness. 

I  believe  there  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  a  re- 
union of  science  and  religion,  if  scientific  men  will  avoid 
the  attitude  of  academic  aloofness  and  cynical  indiffer- 
ence to  the  claims  of  sentiment,  and  if  religious  men,  on 
the  other  hand,  will  abandon  the  attitude  of  dogmatism 
and  adherence  to  purely  traditional  beliefs. 


[223] 


GEORGE  WALTER  FISK, 

OBERLIN^   OHIO 

Professor  of  practical  theology  at  Oberlin  Theological 
Seminary,  Oberlin,  Ohio,  since  1907;  junior  dean  since 
1910 ;  bom  June  3,  1872,  at  HoUiston,  Mass.;  educated 
at  Amherst  College  and  Hartford  Theological  Seminary; 
held  pastorates  at  Himtington  and  South  Hadley  Falls, 
Mass.,  and  Auburn,  Me.,  1898-1907;  lecturer  on  business 
methods,  Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  1902-7;  acting 
dean,  Oberlin  Seminary,  1 90 8- 10.  Author  of  The  Chal- 
lenge of  the  Country,  Boy-Life  and  Self-Government,  and 
numerous  monographs  and  articles  on  Church  Administra- 
tion, The  Country  Church  and  Community,  etc. 

I  AM  keenly  interested  in  your  questions  regarding  the 
proper  standards  for  church  membership  in  the  modem 
church.  There  has  been  a  significant  change  in  em- 
phasis on  this  question  during  the  past  century,  a  change 
with  which  I  find  myself  quite  in  agreement. 

I  suppose  there  have  been  four  distinct  standards  of 
church  membership  requirements,  orthodox  belief,  at- 
tainment in  character,  specific  experience,  and  Christian 
purpose.  The  easiest  standard  of  all  is  the  first.  It  has 
never  been  effective,  for  it  keeps  out  only  the  most  con- 
scientious, such  as  Abraham  Lincoln,  whom  you  have 
cited  in  your  letter.  I  do  not  know  a  church  to-day 
which  makes  character  attainment  the  standard  for  ad- 
mission, though  I  presume  most  non-church  members 
regard  this  as  the  actual  standard  in  general  practise. 
It  would  be  pure  Pharisaism  to  adopt  such  a  standard 
of  course. 

A  half  century  ago  the  emphasis  was  quite  uni- 
versally, among  evangelicals,  upon  the  matter  of  per- 

[  224  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

sonal  experience  as  a  test  of  "saving  faith."  The 
stereotyped  form  was  that  of  conversion,  usually  stim- 
ulated by  the  suggestive  power  of  a  revival  meeting. 
Consequently  a  small  percentage  of  the  population  were 
evangelical  church  members.  This  was  to  be  expected, 
for  susceptibility  to  any  particular  form  of  experience 
depends  primarily  upon  one's  temperament  and  native 
type  of  decision.  Consequently  thousands  of  the  best 
and  most  Christlike  people  among  the  regular  church 
attendants  of  those  days  found  themselves  unable  to 
apply  for  church  membership,  for  they  had  never  ex- 
perienced the  psychological  phenomena  of  emotional 
conversion,  and  were  too  honest  to  feign  it,  though  many 
of  them  earnestly  prayed  for  it. 

To-day  about  25  per  cent  of  the  population  are 
church  members,  as  compared  with  7  per  cent  in  1800. 
The  large  gain  in  proportion  has  been  due,  in  consider- 
able degree,  to  the  shifting  emphasis  which  now  is  upon 
Christian  purpose  more  than  experience,  or  belief.  In 
many  churches  now  the  honest  and  earnest  expression 
of  the  purpose  to  live  the  Christian  life  is  what  is  ex- 
pected of  new  members.  The  test  of  this  purpose  is 
some  sort  of  a  "covenant  of  Christian  living"  which  the 
new  member  accepts  as  his  constructive  platform  for 
living  the  religious  life  with  the  help  of  God.  To  be 
sure,  many  churches  retain  a  creed  still  as  their  test  of 
membership;  though  many  others  never  had  a  creed 
and  even  decry  creeds.  I  have  little  sympathy  with  the 
popular  clamor  for  "deeds  not  creeds";  for  I  of  course 
recognize  that  every  man  has  his  creed,  the  philosophy 
of  life  by  which  he  lives.  But  he  often  professes  quite 
another  creed,  and  a  professional  creed  is  of  little  value. 
I  prefer  the  covenant  basis  for  church  membership  be- 

[225] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

cause  it  is  the  creed  in  practical  terms,  perhaps  all  of 
the  creed  which  can  be  actually  worked  into  life. 

We  may  as  well  face  the  fact  that  people  will  never 
absolutely  agree  in  matters  of  belief.  We  do  not  all 
think  alike,  and  it  is  not  necessary  that  we  should.  There 
can  never  be  Christian  unity  on  the  basis  of  a  fixed 
creed.  But  with  a  simple  "covenant  of  Christian  liv- 
ing" there  is  large  opportunity  for  real  union,  within 
which  a  generous  scope  for  divergence  in  belief  is  al- 
lowed and  expected.  Many  churches  might  be  cited, 
within  the  fellowship  of  which  there  is  wide  divergence 
in  details  of  faith.  In  fact  the  members  have  previously 
been  members  of  scores  of  other  churches;  but  they 
work  together  splendidly  on  the  basis  of  a  common  pur- 
pose and  mutual  service. 

We  find  a  similar  experience  in  Oberlin  Theological 
Seminary,  a  strictly  non-sectarian  training  school  for 
the  Christian  ministry.  We  have  this  year  members  of 
sixteen  different  denominations  of  churches,  and  we  can 
hardly  distinguish  them  from  each  other.  The  common 
devotion  to  the  great  kingdom  of  God  and  the  universal 
Church  unites  them  all  and  differences  are  forgotten. 
We  apprehend  that  in  this  way  a  genuine  Christian 
unity  is  being  worked  out  by  the  providence  of  God,  the 
essential  motive  of  which  will  be  a  common  consecration 
and  a  mutual  cooperation  for  God  and  humanity. 


[226] 


GEORGE   HOLLEY   GILBERT,   Ph.D.,  D.D., 

DORSETj  VT. 

Born  at  Cavendish,  Vt.,  Nov.  4,  1854;  was  educated  at 
Dartmouth  College,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  the 
University  at  Leipsic,  1885;  ordained  to  the  Congrega- 
tional ministry,  1886;  acting  professor  of  New  Testament 
literature,  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  1886-87;  pro- 
fessor, 1887-1901;  author  of  The  Poetry  of  Job;  The 
Student's  Life  of  Jesus;  The  Student's  Life  of  Paul;  The 
Revelation  of  Jesus;  The  First  Interpreters  of  Jesus;  A 
Primer  of  the  Christian  Religion;  A  Short  History  of 
Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age;  History  of  the  Inter- 
pretation of  the  Bible;  A   Commentary  on  Acts;  Jesus, 

CREEDS,  DOCTRINES,  AND  THE  CHURCH  OF 

TO-DAY 

A  CREED  as  the  doorway  into  the  Christian  fold  is  a  well- 
meant  device  of  the  Church  itself,  not  a  suggestion  of 
the  founder  of  Christianity.  It  was  the  first  and  one  of 
the  most  momentous  departures  from  the  simple  way  of 
Jesus.  For,  however  short  and  fundamental  a  creed 
may  be,  its  use  as  the  test  of  fitness  for  membership  in 
the  Church  tends  to  reduce  Christianity  to  an  opinion; 
it  makes  salvation  a  matter  of  the  mind.  Jesus,  how- 
ever, put  the  chief  emphasis  on  a  right  will  and  a  good 
heart. 

Jesus  did  not  indeed  scorn  knowledge  or  undervalue 
it.  His  parables  provoke  thought  in  a  high  degree,  as 
do  also  the  short  pregnant  sayings  of  the  Logia.  Yet  it 
was  by  his  personal  example,  by  the  spirit  of  his  life, 
that  he  sought  to  draw  others  to  trust  the  heavenly 
Father,  which,  for  him,  was  the  beginning  and  the  end 

[  227  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  religion,  and  to  love  the  fellow-man,  which  he  re- 
garded as  the  sum  of  ethical  duty. 

But  the  weakness  of  the  Church  to-day  in  promot- 
ing the  cause  of  Jesus  is  not  to  be  charged  too  largely 
to  the  fact  that  it  prescribes  a  creed  as  the  condition 
of  entrance.  It  is  not  merely  the  door  of  the  Church 
that  is  forbidding  to  many,  but  also  what  one  hears 
within.  For  though  the  pulpit  has  begun  to  adjust 
itself  to  the  residts  of  historical  study  of  the  Bible  and 
to  the  results  of  science,  it  is  only  a  beginning  that  has 
been  made,  and  often  even  in  this  beginning  the  heart 
has  not  gone  with  the  head.  Some  preachers  present 
the  old  conceptions  of  the  Bible  and  the  ancient  views 
of  the  person  of  Christ  with  clippings  from  psychology 
and  science,  and  suppose  that  they  are  keeping  abreast 
of  truth,  while  others  timidly  distinguish  between  what 
they  believe  in  their  own  hearts  and  what  they  preach, 
and  yet  others  sturdily  refuse  to  stir  from  their  anchor- 
age by  the  "good  old  doctrines." 

There  is  urgent  need  that  preachers  should  simplify 
their  doctrinal  message  into  harmony  with  the  principles 
of  Jesus.  If  this  process  is  carried  to  its  legitimate  end, 
it  will  greatly  transform  the  pulpit,  and  therefore  will 
in  time  transform  the  religious  thought  and  the  life 
of  the  Church.  There  is  also  urgent  need  that  preachers, 
following  the  example  of  Jesus  who  found  God  in  na- 
ture, should  modernize  and  vivify  their  message  by  cor- 
relating it  with  those  results  of  science  which  are  most 
suggestive  of  ethical  and  religious  truth.  This  corre- 
lation will  do  much  to  extend  the  influence  of  the  Church 
among  thoughtful  people. 


[228] 


GEORGE    MILBRY   GOULD,   M.D., 

ATLANTIC  CITY,  N.  J. 

Physician;  born  at  Auburn,  Me.,  Nov.  8,  1848;  graduated 
from  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  1 873 ;  Jefferson  Med- 
ical College,  Philadelphia,  1888;  editor  of  the  Medical 
News,  1892-95;  Philadelphia  Medical  Journal,  1898- 
1900;  American  Medicine,  1901-5;  Fellow  of  the  College 
of  Physicians,  Philadelphia,  and  member  of  the  American 
Ophthalmic  Society  of  the  American  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine; author  of  A  New  Medical  Dictionary;  Pocket  Medical 
Dictionary;  Illustrated  Dictionary  of  Medicine  and  Biol- 
ogy;  Borderland  Studies;  Diseases  of  the  Eye;  The  Mean- 
ing and  the  Method  of  Life;  An  Autumn  Singer;  American 
Year  Book  of  Medicine  and  Surgery;  Anomalies  and  Curi- 
osities of  Medicine;  Encyclopedia  of  Practical  Medicine 
and  Surgery;  Suggestions  to  Medical  Writers;  Biographic 
Clinics;  The  Practitioners'  Medical  Dictionary;  Right- 
handedness;  The  Infinite  Presence;  associate  editor  of  the 
Ldfe  and  Letters  of  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman,  and  of 
Genius  and  Other  Essays  by  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman, 

I  WOULD  epitomize  your  questions  thus :  How  can  we 
make  religion  scientific?  Or,  what  is  really  the  same 
question:  How  can  we  make  science  religious?  Sub- 
ordinate is  the  practical  difficulty:  How  can  the 
answers  be  fused  into  a  working  creed  for  a  popular 
church  organization? 

The  desire  for  a  scientific  religion  and  a  religious 
science  is  proof  of  the  conviction  that  science  and  re- 
ligion are  of  equal  value  and  importance  to  the  best 
human  character  and  life.  Without  the  scientific  in- 
tellect and  religious  ethics  at  the  heart  of  personality, 
the  drift  is  inevitable  toward  self-satisfactions  and  de- 
terminism. Without  knowledge,  i.e.,  science,  of  the 
world  of  matter  and  force,  a  person  is  the  sport  of  the 

[  229  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Zeitgeist,  and  of  his  passions  and  desires.  It  is  the 
same  if  one  neglect  religion  and  conscience :  life  becomes 
subservient  to  the  outside  laws  and  world  of  "fate." 
Slavery  follows  either  extreme,  for  fatalism  is  the 
inobviable  result  of  either  choice.  Freedom  is  the 
reward  of  the  choice  of  the  double  masters. 

Because,  if,  without  prejudice,  we  look  at  a  human 
being,  oneself  or  another,  we  recognize  that  he  is  a 
composite  of  psyche  and  flesh.  "The  Logos  became 
flesh."  Concerning  ultimate  origins  either  of  spirit  or 
matter,  we  know  absolutely  nothing,  and  to  say  one  fur- 
ther word  about  them  is  nonsense.  Somehow  the 
two  are  strangely  and  intimately  united  while  we  live 
here,  but  neither  could  have  created  the  other.  The 
miracle  of  their  unlikeness  is  almost  as  great  as  that  of 
their  interblending  by  incarnation.  Monism  is  the  be- 
lief in  either  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  and  violates 
the  truth,  plain  to  any  disingenuous  mind,  of  their 
independent  existence.  Whether  materialistic  or  spir- 
itualistic, monism  is  a  sin  both  of  intellect  and  of  morals, 
and,  if  thoroughgoing,  speedily  ends  in  atheism  and 
determinism. 

The  biologic  world  we  know  is  the  great  adventure 
of  God,  or  the  universal  Psyche,  in  materiality,  that  he 
may  win  it  to  the  synthesis  of  purpose  and  life.  The 
control  of  the  physical  world  and  its  utilization  for  spir- 
itual ends  is  the  method  and  the  meaning  of  biology, 
or  the  incarnation-process. 

We  know  that  any  life-form  is  made  up  of  two 
realities,  spirit  and  matter.  That  the  ontogeny  repeats 
the  phylogeny — the  most  encompassing  of  all  truths — 
shows  one  soul,  one  organic  memory,  in  all  the  history 
from  the  beginning  to  now,  and  to  be  carried  on  by 

[230] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

every  living  organism.  That  the  mystery  of  life  thus 
comes  into  the  mystery  of  matter  and  creates  the  mys- 
tery of  biology  and  humanity — this  is  the  most  thrilling 
and  largest  truth  in  the  grasp  of  the  human  mind.  The 
knowledge  of  the  physical  side  of  the  cosmic  marriage 
constitutes  science ;  the  love  and  cooperation  of  the  indi- 
vidual life  with  the  universal  life  is  religion.  Of  what- 
ever else  God  may  be  and  do  before  or  beyond  this 
world's  incarnation-process,  we  know  nothing.  Perhaps 
we  shall  know  when  we  progress  toward  larger  love  of 
and  participation  in  his  life  and  work.  But  all  our 
biological  science  is  seeing  with  his  vision,  rethinking 
his  thoughts,  and  aiding  him  in  his  aim  and  our  work. 
He  is  the  Father  of  religion  and  the  first  and  greatest 
of  all  scientists;  our  merit  and  happiness  is  in  loving 
and  helping  him  according  to  Christ's  all-comprising 
commands — Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect;  Love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  soul,  mind,  strength,  and  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself. 

That  is  the  life  of  all  theology,  and,  alone,  is  creed 
enough,  perhaps.  The  church  which  limits  its  theology 
to  that,  with  some  such  subdominant  and  overtones  as 
I  have  crudely  suggested,  would  gain  an  ever-increasing 
membership  of  good  men  and  women. 


[231] 


CASPAR   RENE   GREGORY,   Ph.D.,   D.D., 
S.T.D.,  LL.D., 

LEIPSIC^   GERMANY 

Professor  of  theology.  University  of  Leipsic,  since  1891; 
born  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Nov.  6,  1846;  was  educated  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Theological  Seminary 
of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia, 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  and  the  University  of 
Leipsic;  subeditor  of  the  Theologische  Liter aturzeitung, 
1876-84;  pastor  of  the  American  Chapel  at  Leipsic,  1878- 
79;  privat-docent  of  theology.  University  of  Leipsic, 
1884-89;  associate  professor  of  theology,  1889-91;  author 
of  the  Prolegomena  (3  parts)  to  the  eighth  edition,  criti- 
ca  major,  of  K.  von  Tischendorf's  Novum  Testamentum 
Greece;  Texthritik  des  Neuen  Testaments;  Canon  and 
Text  of  the  New  Testament;  Das  Freer  Logion;  Die 
griechischen  Handschriften  des  Neuen  Testaments;  Ein- 
leitung  in  das  Neue  Testament;  Wellhausen  und  Johannes; 
Die  Schriften  von  Carl  Wessely;  Vorschldge  fur  eine 
kritische  Ausgabe  des  griechischen  Neuen  Testaments; 
Die  Koridethi  Evangelion  (with  Gustav  Boermann) ;  has 
translated  into  English  C.  E.  Luthardt's  St.  John  the 
Author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  and  the  same  scholar's  com- 
mentary on  the  Gospel  of  John  (3  vols.) ;  assisted  Charles 
Hodge  in  the  preparation  of  his  Systematic  Theology 
(3  vols.). 

The  two  main  reasons  for  indifference  toward  the 
Church  seem  to  me  to  be  for  the  poor  the  feeling  that  the 
Church  is  backing  up  the  rich  people  who  make  their 
life  hard,  and  for  the  rich  the  feeling  that  the  Church 
deals  in  a  matter  that  is  out  of  date. 

As  for  membership,  our  Lutheran  Church  does  not 
pledge  its  members  to  the  particular  creeds.  I  regard 
the  words  in  Matt.  22 :  37-39,  to  which  Lincoln  referred, 
as  quite  enough  for  a  creed. 

As  for  theology,  it  is  not  of  the  least  value  if  it  does 

[232] 


"Walter  F.  Adeney        < 

(C)  Lafayette-Manchester  "^'a) 


Milton  O.  Evans 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

not  accord  with  every  actually  proved  result  of  historical 
or  other  scientific  research. 

Theologians  should  grant  to  every  opposing  theo- 
logian the  right  to  think  and  speak  for  himself,  should 
join  to  a  strict  following  of  the  dictates  of  their  own 
conscience  the  freedom  for  other  people  to  follow  theirs. 


[233] 


WILLIAM  ELLIOT   GRIFFIS,  D.D.,  L.H.D., 

ITHACA,     N.     y. 

Lecturer  and  author;  born  in  Philadelphia,  Sept.  17, 
1843;  educated  at  Rutgers  College  (New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.)  and  Union  Theological  Seminary;  went  to  Japan 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing  schools,  1870;  superintend- 
ent of  education  in  the  province  of  Echizen,  1871;  pro- 
fessor of  physics  in  the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo, 
1872-74;  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  Church,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  1877-86,  Shawmut  Congregational  Church, 
Boston,  1886-93,  First  Congregational  Church,  Ithaca, 
N.  Y.,  1893-1903;  author  of  The  Mikado's  Empire;  Jap- 
anese Fairy  World;  Asiatic  History;  China,  Corea  and 
Japan;  Corea — The  Hermit  Nation;  Corea,  Without  and 
Within;  Matthew  Calbraith  Perry;  The  Lily  Among 
Thorns;  Honda^  the  Samurai;  Sir  William  Johnson  and 
the  Six  Nations;  Japan — In  History,  Folklore  and  Art; 
Brave  Little  Holland  and  What  She  Taught  Us;  The  Re- 
ligions of  Japan;  Romance  of  Discovery;  Romance  of 
American  Colonization;  Romance  of  Conquest;  The  Pil- 
grims in  Their  Three  Homes;  America  in  the  East;  Ver- 
becJe  in  Japan;  The  Pathfinders  of  the  Revolution;  A 
Maker  of  the  New  Orient;  Sunny  Memories  of  Three 
Pastorates;  Dux  Christus,  An  Outline  Study  of  Japan; 
The  Japanese  Nation  in  Evolution;  The  Story  of  New 
Netherland;  China's  Story  in  Myth,  Legend,  Art  and  An- 
nals, 

JESUS  FOR  OUR  AGE  AND  THE  AGES 

Let  one  put  himself  in  the  place  of  the  inquiring  Greeks 
(John  10:  20-25),  and  say,  "Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus." 
What  would  be  the  answer  received?  From  the  ma- 
jority of  the  teachers  or  custodians  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  as  organized  to-day,  would  come  a  reply  far  re- 
moved in  spirit  and  form,  I  fear,  from  that  given  by  the 
Master. 

[  234  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Acceptance  of  a  body  of  traditions,  long  and  compli- 
cated statements  of  alleged  Christian  doctrine  (largely 
founded  on  European  scholasticism  and  texts  from  the 
Old  Testament,  or  the  Apocrypha,  or  on  particular 
epochs  of  art,  tradition,  or  controversy)  and  willingness 
to  be  initiated  into  the  forms,  ceremonies,  and  mysteries, 
more  or  less  occult  and  unscientific,  of  the  divisions,  obe- 
diences, communions  or  sects,  would  be  demanded.  As 
through  a  thicket,  one  must  press  to  touch  the  Master. 

Yet  these  inheritances  and  verbal  symbols  now  laid 
on  men's  consciences  are  chiefly  from  the  Middle  Ages, 
or,  still  worse,  are  the  relics  of  savagery,  barbarism,  or 
semicivilized  paganism.  In  a  word,  a  church-member 
of  to-day,  usually,  and  certainly  a  church  officer  must 
subscribe  or  assent  to  metaphysics,  intellectual  proposi- 
tions or  manners  or  customs,  formed  and  crusted  cen- 
turies ago,  which  have  no  necessary  connection  with  any- 
thing that  Jesus  said,  taught,  or  lived. 

I  believe  that  a  reformation  of  Christianity  is  as 
much  needed  to-day  as  when,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  Christian  religion  in  Northern  Europe  was  simpli- 
fied, or  when  the  language  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
of  church  worship  was  taken  out  of  its  dead  forms 
and  put  into  the  living  speech  of  the  people.  Greek 
philosophy,  Latin  discipline  and  superstition,  with  Prot- 
estant dogmatism  have  so  overlaid  "the  simplicity  that 
is  in  Christ,"  that,  unless  it  were  of  God,  the  religion 
of  Jesus  would  long  ago  have  been  smothered. 

All  science  and  pure  religion  tend  to  unity  and 
therefore  simplicity.  The  Scriptures  show  this.  As  I 
read  the  record  of  man's  spiritual  experience  in  the 
Bible,  I  behold  a  series  of  releases,  deliverances  of  the 
souls  of  men  from  worn-out  dogmas,  breakings  of  the 

[235] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

crust  and  burstings  of  the  seed  from  its  sheathing.  The 
voice  that  calls  is  God's.  The  imagery  and  drapery  of 
the  narratives,  being  of  men,  differ,  but  the  active 
growth  and  deliverance  is  ever  one  and  the  same.  There 
is  Adam's  "fall,"  or  the  rise  of  the  primitive  man  into 
moral  consciousness,  and  the  divine  summons  to  him 
to  the  sorrowful  yet  glorious  discipline  of  holiness. 
Abraham,  enlightened  of  God,  and  delivered  from  the 
dead  orthodoxy  of  his  country,  people  and  times,  which 
demanded  Isaac  as  a  victim,  forsakes  human  and  offers 
animal  sacrifices.  Jacob,  agonizing  in  soul  to  know  who 
and  what  God  is,  would  learn  his  name,  nature,  mean- 
ing, and  purpose. 

Each  of  these  events  means  reformation  and  ad- 
vance in  theology.  Who  that  is  a  spiritual  leader  of 
men  to-day  but  has  been  at  Jabbok's  ford  and  wrestled 
with  an  "angel,"  thankful  to  be  victor  with  God,  even 
if  limping  in  spirit  and  his  earthly  pride  wounded. 
Have  we  not  been  there?  Job  first  sat  in  honor  and 
then  lay  upon  the  dung-heap,  meeting  the  same  sort  of 
comforters  and  philosophers  that  we  meet.  Happy  are 
we  if  we  hear  God's  invitation  to  walk  with  him.  Was 
Samuel's  call  any  different  in  kind  from  that  which 
comes  to  each  one  of  us?  Was  the  call  of  the  prophets, 
Elijah,  Elisha,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Joel,  Daniel,  or  of 
Paul,  fundamentally  distinct  from  that  which  comes  to 
us  to-day?  Alas,  that  so  many  monopolizers  of  relig- 
ion and  professional  purveyors  of  salvation  stop  their 
ears !  But  the  seeking  soul,  not  afraid  of  priest,  parson, 
synod,  or  rich  pew-holder  hearkens  as  of  old.  God  not 
only  was,  but  he  is.  He  has  not  changed,  and  it  is 
glorious  to  think  that  he  is  coming  and  is  to  come. 

We  must  ponder  the  answer  of  Jesus  to  the  inquir- 

[236] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  Greeks,  for  it  is  exactly  apt  to-day.  The  "grain 
of  corn,"  as  we  have  it,  is  traditional  Christianity,  a 
conglomerate  of  pre-ancient,  ethnic,  and  medieval 
metaphysics,  traditions,  superstitions,  and  what  not 
that  one  cannot  discover  in  what  Jesus  said,  taught,  or 
lived.  It  is  an  outrage  upon  the  Christ  to  assert  and 
flaunt  these  assets  of  tradition  in  his  name  and  make 
them  obstacles  to  faith.  It  is  a  sinful  wrong  to  force 
such  a  yoke  upon  souls  that  hunger  for  truth  and  spir- 
itual joy.  The  Church  has  no  right  to  do  this,  yet 
she  does,  keeping  out  thousands  of  honest  men  like 
Abraham  Lincoln,  truth-seekers,  lovers  of  science,  and 
those  whose  living  creed  is  "Jesus  only."  The  "grain  of 
corn"  must  die,  in  order  to  bear  the  fruit  which  the 
Master  expects. 

The  basis  and  erection  of  a  true  theology  can  and 
must  be  found  only  in  what  Jesus  taught,  lived,  and 
commanded,  for  only  that  is  Christianity.  Other  doc- 
trines, venerable  and  precious,  are  affairs  of  intellectual 
discipline,  matters  of  individual  taste,  or  questions  of 
ethnic  or  personal  temperament;  but  no  more  to  be 
laid  on  the  conscience  now  than  are  the  scores  of 
dogmas,  customs,  and  points  of  ritual  which  were  long 
ago  outworn  and  cast  away.  Once,  they  were  salt  for 
seasoning,  but  now,  the  savor  gone,  they  may  serve  only 
for  the  mending  of  the  road  for  the  eternal  march  of 
humanity. 

No  theology  can  stand  which  does  not  accord  with 
the  assured  results  of  science.  All  the  spiritual  values 
of  human  life  and  all  that  has  uplifted  man  must  find 
fulfilment  in  the  Christianity  of  Jesus  which  the  Church 
is  yet  to  offer.  They  must  be  incorporated  into  the 
system  of  truth  held  by  a  Christian,  whether  they 

[237] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

come  out  of  science  or  from  the  religions  which  Jesus 
said  he  came  not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil. 

It  seems  to  me  most  of  the  spirit,  and  the  larger 
bulk  of  what  Jesus  actually  taught  and  lived,  has  not 
yet  been  absorbed  by  or  incorporated  into  our  accepted 
theology.  Most  church  members  are  afraid  to  face 
Jesus  fully  and  to  accept  his  doctrine  of  renunciation. 
We  have  set  the  disciple  above  the  Lord  himself.  We 
have  tithed  too  many  herbs  in  the  Pharisee's  scholastic 
garden,  while  neglecting  the  weightier  matters  on 
which  Jesus  laid  emphasis.  As  he  himself  gave  us  the 
substance  of  the  law  and  the  prophets,  why  not  let 
these  suffice,  especially  for  what,  before  opening  the 
church  doors,  we  dare  to  lay  on  men's  consciences? 

I  confess  that  after  a  half  century  of  life  as  a  stu- 
dent, I  have  never  found  that  history,  science,  research, 
or  critical  study,  in  the  long  run,  has  disturbed  my  sim- 
ple, personal  piety  or  shaken  my  faith  in  my  heavenly 
Father,  and  will  not,  so  long  as  I  make  Jesus,  and  not 
dogma,  my  Master.  I  have  found  it  wholesomer  to 
fear  God  than  to  fear  church  dignitaries,  trustees,  pew- 
holders,  or  fellow  pastors  with  high  or  low  salaries,  or 
to  worry  over  position  or  emolument.  Now  my  faith  in 
Jesus  is  stronger  than  ever.  My  vision  of  the  funda- 
mental truths  contained  in  the  old  doctrines,  which  are 
still  made  to  wear  the  clothes  of  medieval  metaphysics, 
is  clearer,  yet  I  should  gladly  see  them  arrayed  in  new 
robes. 

The  Son  of  man  revealed  the  Father — ^that  is  the 
sum  of  our  theology  proper.  What  Jesus  taught  and 
lived  suffices  for  all  our  problems,  for  he  knew  what 
was  in  man.  That  is  the  substance  of  a  true  anthropol- 
ogy.   In  him  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 

[238] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

knowledge.  Increasingly  I  lose  confidence  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal claims  and  theories  of  every  sort  that  discredit 
Christian  experience.  More  clearly  do  I  recognize  Jesus 
in  his  disciples,  whether  they  wear  the  uniforms  of  the 
sects  or  not.    To  labor  for  men  is  to  labor  for  him. 

In  the  line  of  my  studies  of  history  and  comparative 
religion,  I  confess,  I  find  God  more  fully  and  clearly 
through  this  discipline  than  in  the  accretions  and  ex- 
crescences of  popular  Christianity,  or  of  orthodoxy  so- 
called,  especially  that  made  long  ago  by  majority  votes 
in  councils.  With  the  old  systems  of  theology  and 
church  procedure  we  can  never  solve  the  problems  that 
press  upon  us  to-day.  By  following  Christ  fully,  en- 
tering into  his  mind,  renouncing  most  of  the  medieval 
dogmas  labeled  Christian,  dropping  those  which  he  did 
not  himself  teach ;  and  by  facing  ostracism,  if  need  be, 
or  even  poverty;  replacing  race-,  color-,  creed-,  and  so- 
cial repulsions,  as  far  as  possible,  with  love,  and  adding 
to  our  other  sacrifices  that  of  self,  as  fully  the  living 
spirit  of  Christ  helps  us  to  do  so,  we  shall  win  the  world 
and  save  our  own  souls. 

At  present,  it  is  obedience  to  the  ecclesiastical  cor- 
poration, or  acceptance  of  the  dogma,  that  is  the  su- 
preme requirement.  What  is  needed  is,  first,  passionate 
loyalty  to  Jesus,  and,  second,  "the  service  of  humanity 
by  re-born  men."  Perhaps  some  old  civilization  and 
type  of  man,  not  yet  reckoned  Christian,  will  furnish 
these  in  intensity  and  compelling  example.  God  speed 
it!  The  Church  will  then  no  longer  shelter  orthodox 
scoundrels  and  reprobates  who  are  obedient  to  their 
hierarchy. 

Let  us  reverence  the  old  creeds  as  wayinarks  of 
progress  and  use  selected  portions  of  them  as  material 

[239] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

for  the  new  edifices  of  the  intellect ;  yes,  even  make  devo- 
tional use  of  them,  but  never  stumbling  blocks  in  the 
paths  of  those  who  say  and  feel,  "Sirs,  we  would  see 
Jesus." 

Oh,  for  the  continuing  vision  of  the  Christ  who  re- 
vealed the  Father — ^not  the  Christ  of  the  Greek  meta- 
physics, or  of  Roman  legend  and  obedience,  or  of  medi- 
eval or  Renaissance  art,  or  of  Protestant  dogma  or  coun- 
cils, but  the  Christ  with  whom  John  walked,  and  whom 
he  saw  again  in  the  island  of  Patmos — the  Christ  of  the 
age  and  the  ages. 

As  among  the  choice  flowers  of  faith  and  expression 
in  the  gardens  of  the  past  we  each  have  our  favorites, 
let  me  pluck  and  offer  mine  from  the  initial  article  of  the 
Belgic  Confession  of  Faith.  It  seems  to  me  worth  all 
the  others  in  that  blood-stained  document  gilded  with 
the  gold  of  truth  in  martyr  fires. 

"We  all  believe  with  the  heart  and  confess  with  the 
mouth  that  there  is  only  one  simple  and  spiritual  Being, 
which  we  call  God,  and  that  He  is  eternal,  incompre- 
hensible, invisible,  immutable,  infinite,  almighty,  per- 
fectly wise,  just,  good,  and  the  overflowing  fountain  of 
all  good," — ^whom  Jesus  revealed  to  us. 

In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

Nisi  Dominus  Frustra, 


[240] 


ALMON  GUNNISON,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

CANTON^   N.   Y. 

President  of  St.  Lawrence  University,  Canton,  N.  Y.,  since 
1898;  born  at  Hallowell,  Me.,  March  2,  1844;  studied  at 
Tufts  College  and  St.  Lawrence  University;  ordained  to 
the  Universalist  ministry,  1868;  pastor  at  Bath,  Me., 
1868-71;  for  twenty  years  was  pastor  of  AH*  Soul's 
Church,  Brooklyn,  and  for  ten  years  pastor  of  the  First 
Church,  Worcester,  Mass.;  author  of  Rambles  Overland; 
Wayside  and  Fireside  Rambles. 

No  branch  of  the  Christian  Church  has  any  right  to 
make  harder  terms  of  entrance  than  were  made  by  the 
founder  of  the  Church,  Jesus  Christ.  His  requirements 
were  the  simplest ;  admirably  expressed  in  the  words  of 
Lincoln:  love  to  God  and  love  to  man. 

The  tendency  of  the  Church  has  been  to  multiply 
requirements.  The  student  of  Church  history  wonders 
at  the  hair-splitting  tests  which  the  ingenuity  of  dog- 
matists has  devised  to  keep  people  out  of  the  Church. 
It  is  not  wonderful  that  skeptics  have  sneered  and  the 
thoughtful  have  revolted  and  the  reverent  have  been 
sorrowful  at  the  pettiness  of  the  requirements  made  by 
little  sects  for  admission  into  their  little  fellowships. 
Denominations  have  held  that  the  divine  grace  could 
come  only  through  their  little  conduits  and  that  they 
were  the  interpreters  of  the  oracles  of  God. 

No  more  hopeful  sign  of  the  times  exists  than  the 
recent  renascence  back  to  the  simplicity  of  primitive 
Christianity,  before  the  creed  tinkers  arrogantly  be- 
gan to  make  their  doctrines  out  by  "the  poor  device  of 
man."  One  by  one  the  barnacles  of  dogma  have  been 
eliminated.    First,  wise  men,  with  ingenious  sophistry, 

[241] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tried  to  square  their  creeds  with  their  common  sense; 
next,  they  ignored  the  absurdities  and  at  last  struck 
them  out  and  denied  that  they  ever  believed  them.  No 
one  now,  unless  he  be  a  relic  of  a  past  era,  pretends 
to  believe  them.  They  have  not  been  argued  out  of  exist- 
ence, they  have  simply  been  abandoned.  Witchcraft, 
which  was  once  one  of  the  accepted  and  cherished 
articles  of  Christian  belief,  was  never  destroyed  by 
argument,  it  was  simply  left  behind,  abandoned.  There 
is  something  in  the  atmosphere  of  modern  times  that 
destroys  the  old  barbarities  of  ancient  dogmas,  as  the 
warm  breath  of  spring  melts  the  frost.  Old  theologians 
have  become  humane.  Men  begin  to  cherish  "the  larger 
hope,"  and  what  men  hope  they  begin  to  believe,  and 
what  they  believe  they  preach.  The  old  creeds  are  hung 
up  for  monuments  as  we  keep  the  discarded  thumb 
screws  of  an  age  which  has  been  left  behind.  Whether 
the  Church  can  win  back  the  influence  which  its  petty 
creeds  have  lost  and  bring  to  its  sane  administration  and 
its  simple  creeds  those  whom  its  artificial  restrictions 
have  alienated  is  a  question  yet  to  be  solved.  The  Church 
to-day  is  the  Church  foundationed  on  common  sense. 
It  is  kind,  philanthropic,  doing  the  Lord's  will  with 
sanity  and  in  the  spirit  of  love.  The  idol  makers  and 
the  dove  sellers  of  formality  have  been  driven  out  of  the 
temple,  and  the  waters  of  life  are  offered  freely  to  who- 
soever will.  The  world  needs  the  Church  never  more 
than  now,  and  never  was  it  so  well  equipped  for  service 
as  now  when  it  has  thrown  off  its  yokes  and  manacles. 


[242] 


THEODORE   HAERING,  Th.D., 

TUBINGEN,  GERMANY 

Professor  of  New  Testament  exegesis,  dogmatics,  and 
ethics  at  the  University  of  Tiibingen  since  1895;  born  at 
Stuttgart,  April  22,  1848;  educated  at  the  universities  of 
Tubingen  and  Berlin,  1866-71;  lecturer  in  the  Evangelical 
Theological  Seminary,  Tiibingen,  1873-76;  pastor  at  Calw, 
1876-81;  Stuttgart,  1881-86;  professor  at  Zurich,  1886-89; 
professor  at  Gottingen,  1890-95;  associate  editor  of  the 
Theologiscke  Studien  aus  Wuerttemberg,  1880-89;  author 
of  Ueber  das  Bleibende  im  Glauben  an  Christusj  Die 
Theologie  und  der  Vorwurf  der  doppelten  Wahrheit;  Zu 
Ritschls  Versohnungslehre ;  Zur  Versohnungslehre;  Unsere 
personliche  Stellung  zum  geistlichen  Beruf;  Gerechtigkeit 
Gotfes  bei  Paulus;  Die  Lebensfrage  der  systematischen 
Theologie;  Das  christliche  Leben  (translated  into  Eng- 
lish) ;  Zeitgem'dsse  Predigt;  Der  christliche  Glaube  (also 
translated  into  English) ;  Personlich-praktisches  aus  der 
Glaubenslehre — Predigten. 

The  experience  of  Abraham  Lincoln  seems  to  me  to  be 
both  typical  and  non-typical  for  a  thousand  other  men, 
in  so  far  as  they  do  not  wish  to  identify  themselves  with 
the  definite  confession  of  a  definite  church.  Non-typi- 
cal, in  that  very  few  among  them  will  understand  and 
confirm  with  their  life  and  death  Lincoln's  motto,  taken 
from  Mark  12:  28-33,  in  the  deep  sense  in  which  this 
splendid  man  understood  it.  As  he  understood  and 
obeyed  this  word,  it  contains  not  only  the  supreme  law 
of  Christian  morality,  but  it  pre-supposes  also  the  gos- 
pel of  God's  love  as  revealed  to  us  by  Christ.  We  can 
love  God  and  our  neighbor — as  Christ  understands  this 
commandment — only  "because  God  first  loved  us." 
Christ  himself  did  not  give  this  law  merely  as  a  legis- 
lator, but  as  the  bringer  and  representative  of  the  king- 

[  243  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

dom  of  God.  In  fact,  the  confessions  of  the  different 
Christian  churches  do  not  really  claim  to  be  anything 
but  confessions  of  this  gospel.  They  are  doubtless  im- 
perfect, frequently  calling  forth  the  contradiction  of 
individuals.  But  to  abolish  them  and  to  cling  to  Mark 
12:  28-33  would  be  of  no  avail,  because,  as  was  said 
before,  this  word  is  by  no  means  understood  in  its  full 
depth  by  all  those  who  appropriate  it,  at  the  same  time 
expressing  their  opposition  to  the  confessions.  The 
confessions  might  certainly  be  simplified  and  developed, 
but  if  they  contain  nothing  of  that  gospel  they  are 
worthless  on  account  of  their  vagueness;  they  are  thus 
not  expressions  of  the  Christian  faith  and  life  in  their 
distinction  from  any  other  religion  or  system  of  ethics. 
And,  until  a  Christian  with  a  real  call  to  be  a  reformer 
and  capable  of  making  himself  heard  and  believed 
offers  a  new  and  better  worded  confession,  it  will  be 
better  for  us  to  adhere  to  the  old  and  imperfect  confes- 
sion of  that  church  which  is  comparatively  the  best  home 
for  us,  where  we  may  feel  certain  that,  if  that  church 
is  Protestant  and  not  Roman,  she  will  not  only  permit 
us,  but  enjoin  upon  us,  the  Christian  freedom  of  having 
a  conviction  of  our  own. 

With  this  the  second  question  is  already  answered 
implicitly  and  in  principle.  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  indis- 
pensable for  systematic  theology  and  essential  for  the 
theology  and  essential  for  the  existence  of  a  Protestant 
church  honestly  to  try  to  fmd  the  points  of  contact  be- 
tween Christian  truth  and  all  other  truth.  If  the 
Church  must  die  "then  let  her  die  of  truth,"  as  we  may 
say,  quoting  a  word  of  Fichte's.  But  it  is  the  belief  of 
Christians  that  she  will  not  die,  because  in  the  gospel 
she  possesses  the  truth  of  God,  which  she  must  learn 

[244] 


THE  CmJKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  understand  more  and  more  thoroughly,  and  concern- 
ing which  she  must,  in  every  new  epoch,  again  try  to 
find  points  of  contact  with  truth  in  general.  The  way 
in  which  she  must  do  this  will  be  different  in  different 
epochs.  There  are  no  everlasting  apologetics  or  dog- 
matics ;  there  is  only  an  everlasting  gospel. 


[245] 


ADOLF  HARNACK,  Ph.D.,  Th.D.,  DJur., 

BERLIN^   GERMANY 

Professor  of  theology  at  the  University  of  Berlin  since 
1889;  born  at  Dorpat,  Livonia,  May  7,  1851;  educated  at 
Dorpat,  1869-71;  associate  professor  at  Leipsic,  1876; 
professor  of  church  history  at  Giessen,  1879-86,  and  Mar- 
burg, 1886-89;  general  director  of  the  Royal  Library, 
Berlin,  since  1905;  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Theologische 
Liter aturzeitung,  1881-1911^  and  since  1882  of  the  Texte 
und  Untersuchungen  zur  Geschichte  der  altchristlichen 
Litteratur;  author  of  Dogmengeschichte  (3  vols.) ;  Ge- 
schichte der  altchristlichen  Litteratur  bis  Eusebius;  Die 
'Apostellehre  und  die  judischen  beiden  Wege;  Die  Zeit  des 
Ignatius;  Medicinisches  aus  der  dltesten  Kirchenge- 
schichte;  Geschichte  der  Koniglichen  Preussischen  Acad- 
emic der  Wissenschaften  (4  vols.) ;  Das  Wesen  des  Chris- 
tenthums  (translated  into  English  under  the  title  What  is 
Christianity}) ;  Das  Christ entum  und  die  Geschichte 
(English  translation,  Christianity  and  History) ;  Die 
Aufgabe  der  theologischen  FaJcultaten  und  die  allgemeine 
Religionsgeschichte ;  Die  Mission  und  Ausbreitung  des 
Christentums  in  den  erst  en  drei  Jahrhunderten  (English 
translation.  The  Expansion  of  Christianity  in  the  First 
Three  Centuries) ;  Reden  und  Aufsdtze;  Militia  Christi, 
die  christliche  Religion  und  der  Soldatenstand  in  den 
ersten  drei  Jahrhunderten;  Beitrdge  zur  Einleitung  in  das 
Neue  Testament;  Zrvei  Worte  Jesu;  Essays  on  the  Social 
Gospel  (with  W.  Herrmann) ;  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

*The  gospel  is  no  theoretical  system  of  doctrine  or  phi- 
losophy of  the  universe;  it  is  doctrine  only  in  so  far  as 
it  proclaims  the  reality  of  God  the  Father.  It  is  a  glad 
message  assuring  us  of  life  eternal,  and  telling  us  what 
the  things  and  the  forces  with  which  we  have  to  do  are 
worth.  By  treating  of  life  eternal  it  teaches  us  how  to 
lead  our  lives  aright.     It  tells  us  of  the  value  of  the 

*From  What  is  Christianity^  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  1902, 
by  kind  permission  of  the  publishers. 

[246] 


THE  CHUKCR  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 


human  soul,  of  humility,  of  mercy,  of  purity,  of  the 
cross,  and  the  worthlessness  of  worldly  goods  and  anxi- 
ety for  the  things  of  which  earthly  life  consists.  And  it 
gives  the  assurance  that,  in  spite  of  every  struggle, 
peace,  certainty,  and  something  within  that  can  never 
be  destroyed  will  be  the  crown  of  a  life  rightly  led. 
What  else  can  "the  confession  of  a  creed"  mean  under 
these  conditions  but  to  do  the  will  of  God,  in  the  cer- 
tainty that  he  is  the  Father  and  the  one  who  will  recom- 
pense? Jesus  never  spoke  of  any  other  kind  of  "creed." 
Even  when  he  says,  "Whosoever  shall  confess  me  be- 
fore men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven,"  he  is  thinking  of  people  doing  as 
he  did;  he  means  the  confession  which  shows  itself  in 
feeling  and  action.  How  great  a  departure  from  what 
he  thought  and  enjoined  is  involved  in  putting  a  Chris- 
tological  creed  in  the  forefront  of  the  gospel,  and  in 
teaching  that  before  a  man  can  approach  it  he  must 
learn  to  think  rightly  about  Christ.  That  is  putting 
the  cart  before  the  horse.  A  man  can  think  and  teach 
rightly  about  Christ  only  if,  and  in  so  far  as,  he  has 
already  begun  to  live  according  to  Christ's  gospel. 
There  is  no  forecourt  to  his  message  through  which  a 
man  must  pass ;  no  yoke  which  he  must  first  of  all  take 
upon  himself.  The  thoughts  and  assurances  which  the 
gospel  provides  are  the  first  thing  and  the  last  thing, 
and  every  soul  is  directly  arraigned  before  them. 

Still  less,  however,  does  the  gospel  presuppose  any 
definite  knowledge  of  nature,  or  stand  in  any  connec- 
tion with  such  knowledge;  not  even  in  a  negative  sense 
can  this  contention  be  maintained.  It  is  religion  and 
the  moral  element  that  are  concerned.  The  gospel  puts 
the  living  God  before  us.    Here,  too,  the  confession  of 

[  247  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

him  in  belief  in  him  and  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  will  is 
the  sole  thing  to  be  confessed ;  this  is  what  Jesus  Christ 
meant.  So  far  as  the  knowledge  is  concerned — and  it  is 
vast — which  may  be  based  upon  this  belief,  it  always 
varies  with  the  measure  of  a  man's  inner  development 
and  subjective  intelligence.  But  to  possess  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth  as  a  Father  is  an  experience  to 
which  nothing  else  approaches;  and  it  is  an  experience 
which  the  poorest  soul  can  have,  and  to  the  reality  of 
which  he  can  bear  testimony. 

An  experience — it  is  only  the  religion  which  a  man 
has  himself  experienced  that  is  to  be  confessed;  every 
other  creed  or  confession  is  in  Jesus's  view  hypocritical 
and  fatal.  If  there  is  no  broad  "theory  of  religion"  to 
be  found  in  the  gospel,  still  less  is  there  any  direction 
that  a  man  is  to  begin  by  accepting  and  confessing  any 
ready-made  theory.  Faith  and  creed  are  to  proceed 
and  grow  up  out  of  the  all-important  act  of  turning 
from  the  world  and  to  God,  and  creed  is  to  be  nothing 
but  faith  reduced  to  practise.  "All  men  have  not  faith," 
says  the  Apostle  Paul,  but  all  men  ought  to  be  veracious 
and  be  on  their  guard  in  religion  against  lip-service  and 
light-hearted  assent  to  creeds.  "A  certain  man  had  two 
sons;  and  he  came  to  the  first  and  said.  Son,  go  work 
to-day  in  my  vineyard.  He  answered  and  said,  I  will 
not ;  but  afterward  he  repented  and  went.  And  he  came 
to  the  second,  and  said  likewise.  And  he  answered  and 
said,  I  go,  sir ;  and  went  not." 


[248] 


EUGENE  RUSSELL  HENDRIX,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

KANSAS   CITY^   MO. 

Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  since 
1886;  born  at  Fayette,  Mo.,  May  17,  1847;  was  educated 
at  Wesleyan  University,  Conn.,  and  Union  Theological 
Seminary;  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
South,  1870;  pastor  at  Leavenworth,  Kans.,  1869-70;  Ma- 
con, Mo.,  1870-72;  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  1872-76;  Glasgow, 
Mo.,  1877-78;  president  of  Central  College,  Mo.,  1878- 
86;  Cole  lecturer  at  Vanderbilt  University,  1903;  Quillian 
lecturer  at  Emory  College,  1903;  president  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  1908-12; 
president  of  the  Vanderbilt  University  Board  of  Trustees, 
in  1909;  author  of  Around  the  World;  Skilled  Labor  for 
the  Master;  The  Religion  of  the  Incarnation;  The  Person- 
ality of  the  Holy  Spirit;  Christ's  Table  Talk, 

Be  it  known  that  the  great  majority  (some  17,000,000) 
of  Protestant  Christians  of  America  have  declared  their 
simple  creed  in  common,  "in  Jesus  Christ  as  their  divine 
Lord  and  Saviour."  This  was  done  at  the  Inter-church 
Federation  Conference  held  in  Carnegie  Hall,  New 
York  City  in  December,  1905.  This  represented  not 
only  the  simple  and  essential  doctrinal  statement  of  the 
four  hundred  delegates  from  more  than  100,000  Protes- 
tant ministers  in  thirty-two  of  the  great  denominations, 
but  became  the  unanimous  action  of  their  chief  ecclesi- 
astical judicatories.  Out  of  this  three  years  later  came 
"The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America,"  a  veritable  church  council  which  meets  every 
four  years. 

The  beautiful  simplicity  of  their  creed  has  arrested 
the  attention  of  thoughtful  men  everywhere.  Dr.  James 
Denney  now  happily  suggests  that  the  sufficient  decla- 

[249] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ration  of  ministers  and  officers  of  the  Church  is  found 
in  this  language: 

"I  believe  in  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  his  only 
Son,  our  Lord  and  Saviour." — ^All  of  our  gospel  is  here 
and  none  should  object  to  it. 


[250] 


HERBERT  HENSLEY  HENSON,  D.D., 

WESTMINSTER^  ENGLAND 

Canon  of  Westminster  Abbey  and  rector  of  St.  Margaret's 
since  1900;  born  in  London,  Nov.  8,  1863;  educated  pri- 
vately and  at  Oxford;  head  of  the  Oxford  House,  Bethnal 
Green,  1887-88;  Vicar  of  Barking,  Essex,  1888-95;  In- 
cumbent of  St.  Mary's  Hospital,  Ilford,  1895-1900;  author 
of  Light  and  Leaven;  Apostolic  Christianity;  Cut  Bono: 
an  Open  Letter  to  Lord  Halifax;  Ad  Rem,  Thoughts  on 
the  Crisis  in  the  Church;  edited  Church  Problems,  a  View 
of  Modern  Anglicanism,  by  various  authors;  Dissent  in 
England;  Godly  Union  and  Concord;  Cross  Bench  Views 
of  Current  Church  Questions;  Preaching  to  the  Times; 
Sincerity  and  Subscription;  English  Religion  in  the  17th 
Century;  The  Value  of  the  Bible,  and  Other  Sermons; 
Moral  Discipline  in  the  Christian  Church;  Religion  in  the 
Schools;  Christian  Marriage;  The  National  Church;  Christ 
and  the  Nation;  The  Liberty  of  Prophesying  (Lyman 
Beecher  Lectures) ;  Westminster  Sermons, 

*  On  the  one  hand,  I  approach  the  discussion  of  the 
creed  from  the  point  of  view  of  one  who  himself  accepts 
the  traditional  theology  as  the  necessary  basis  of  teach- 
ing; and,  on  the  other  hand,  I  acknowledge  that  this 
traditional  theology  has  in  many  respects  fallen  out  of 
accord  with  modern  knowledge,  and  needs  to  be  cau- 
tiously but  frankly  revised.  This  attitude  of  acceptance 
with  reservations  is  not  likely  to  be  welcome,  or  even 
intelligible,  to  many  people.  The  man  who  adopts  it 
must  needs  expose  himself  to  attack  from  opposite  quar- 
ters. He  will  certainly  not  satisfy  the  "liberal"  theo- 
logian, who  has  no  other  attitude  toward  traditional 
doctrine  than  that  of  contempt;  and  he  will  as  certainly 
be  an  object  of  suspicion  to  the  "orthodox"  churchman, 

*From   The  Creed  in  the  Pulpit^  by  the  Rev.   H.  Hensley  Henson, 
D.D.,  by  permission  of  the  publishers,  Hodder  and  Stoughton,  London. 

[251] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

who  finds  in  the  difficulties  which  attach  to  credenda 
a  reason  for  insisting  on  their  acceptance  with  the  more 
vehemence.  Nevertheless,  this  via  media  of  caution  and 
charity  will  not  lack  justification  in  the  eyes  of  all  who 
appreciate  the  conditions  under  which  an  historical  re- 
ligion must  be  apprehended,  and  the  dubiety  which 
properly  attaches  to  revisions  of  credenda  suggested 
by  a  criticism  of  very  ancient  documents  themselves 
admittedly  fashioned  by  older  beliefs.  Moreover,  I 
doubt  if  many  "liberal"  theologians  remember  suffi- 
ciently that  revision  or  "restatement"  implies  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  truth  which  has  to  be  revised  and  re- 
stated; that  nothing  which  has  disclosed  the  secrets  of 
the  spirit  can  ever  be  surrendered,  however  greatly  the 
form  in  which  it  is  expressed  may  vary — that,  in  short, 
the  faith  is  unalterably  the  same,  albeit  the  formal  cre- 
denda change  their  form  from  age  to  age.  This  identity 
of  faith  is  best  seen  in  relation  to  the  person  and  work  of 
the  divine  Founder  of  Christianity.  "Jesus  Christ  is 
the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  yea  and  forever."  The 
test  which  I  would  apply  to  every  suggested  "restate- 
ment" of  Christian  theology  would  be  its  treatment  of 
the  Founder.  The  alternative  shortly  expressed  in  the 
phrase  "Jesus  or  Christ"  seems  to  me  to  set  forth  a 
contrast  no  less  violent  than  that  between  Christianity 
and  the  denial  of  Christianity,  I  do  not  believe  that 
such  a  separation  as  is  there  suggested  can  be  made. 
The  history  of  Jesus  is  a  vital  part  of  the  faith  in  Christ. 
The  two  may  not  be  severed  without  cutting  the  roots 
of  spiritual  vitality.  From  the  first  the  sense  of  be- 
lievers has  expressed  itself  in  the  combination,  twofold 
yet  indivisible,  of  the  historical  and  the  spiritual,  Jesus 
Christ.    We  cannot  now  divide  the  two,  making  Jesus  a 

[  252  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

myth  and  retaining  Christ  as  a  living  power.  That  is  all 
one  with  the  fatuity  which  would  maintain  that  a  foun- 
dation is  only  necessary  while  the  house  is  in  building, 
but  ceases  to  be  important  when  once  it  has  been  finished. 
Rather  is  it  the  case  that  the  size  and  splendor  of  the 
building  test  and  reveal  the  strength  of  the  foundation. 
Faith  throws  back  upon  the  history,  which  created  it,  a 
glory  which  illumines  as  well  as  transfigures. 

Identity  of  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  has  been  consistent 
with  frequent  changes  of  opinion  with  respect  to  the 
circumstances  of  his  earthly  life.  For  the  Church  has 
from  the  first  possessed  no  other  knowledge  with  respect 
to  that  life  than  that  which  the  testimony  of  the  apostles, 
of  which  the  essentials  have  been  preserved  in  the  New 
Testament,  has  provided.  It  follows  therefore  that  the 
view  of  the  life  of  Jesus  which  from  time  to  time  has 
prevailed  in  the  Church  has  been  determined  by  the 
methods  of  interpretation  which  have  been  adopted  by 
Christian  students.  So  long  as  an  unsuspecting  liter- 
alism governed  their  minds,  it  was  inevitable  that  the 
life  of  the  Incarnate  should  have  been  seen  through  a 
luminous  haze  of  miracle.  Discrepancies  between  the 
evangelists  could  not,  of  course,  be  concealed,  but  their 
significance  was  not  perceived  or  suspected.  Harmo- 
nists were  able  to  simplify  their  task  into  the  process 
of  suggesting  sufiiciently  plausible  schemes  of  happen- 
ings into  which  all  the  statements  of  Scripture  could  be 
fitted  without  palpable  absurdity.  Ingenuity  and  in- 
dustry in  those  ages  of  faith  looked  over  the  prerogative 
of  faith  itself,  and  "removed  mountains."  At  the  touch 
of  criticism  the  palaces  of  harmony  vanished.  The  old 
relation  between  the  creed  and  the  Scriptures  became 
difficult  to  sustain,  when  proof  texts  were  disallowed 

[253] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  an  uncomfortable  element  of  uncertainty  had  been 
admitted.  The  root  of  our  present  difficulties  is  the  fact 
that,  while  our  methods  of  interpreting  Scripture  have 
changed,  the  theological  system  based  on  the  abandoned 
methods  has  remained  unchanged.  We  are  still  formally 
committed  to  the  Christolcgy  of  the  ancient  Church, 
which  may  be  said  to  have  received  its  final  shape  at  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon  in  A.  D.  451,  but  we  have  long 
parted  company  with  the  exegetical  processes  which 
the  authors  of  that  Christology  employed  in  fashioning 
it.  Hence  the  embarrassments  and  confusions  in  which 
the  modern  teacher  of  the  ancient  doctrine  finds  himself 
immersed;  and  hence  the  reasonableness  of  permitting 
a  large  latitude  of  discussion  to  all  competent  and  relig- 
ious students,  who  address  themselves  to  the  difficult 
but  indispensable  task  of  correlating  what  is  true  in  the 
old  theology  with  what  is  manifestly  true  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  they  must  needs  understand  them  now.  The 
concession  of  such  a  large  latitude  is  not  less  the  re- 
quirement of  justice  to  individuals. 


[254] 


J.   ARTHUR   HILL, 

BRADFORD^   ENGLAND 

Has  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  compara- 
tive religion  and  psychical  research  since  1897;  born  at 
Holmfield,  near  Halifax,  Yorkshire,  Dec.  4,  1872;  educated 
at  Thornton  Grammar  School,  Bradford;  began  business 
career  at  fourteen,  but  continued  studies  in  French,  Ger- 
man and  chemistry,  qualifying  himself  as  analytical 
chemist;  attended  classes  in  weaving  and  designing;  be- 
came manager  of  a  manufacturing  firm;  being  invalided 
by  a  heart-wrench  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  devoted  him- 
self to  study;  author  of  New  Evidences  in  Psychical  Re- 
search (introduction  by  Sir  Oliver  Lodge) ;  Religion  and 
Modern  Psychology;  Spiritualism  and  Psychical  Research, 

The  causes  of  the  indifference  of  a  large  proportion 
of  people  to  the  claims  of  the  Church  are  perhaps  chiefly 
three.  (1)  The  fulness  and  strenuousness  of  life,  and 
the  general  sense  of  its  shortness  and  the  immense 
amount  that  there  is  to  be  done  in  it.  This  on  the 
serious  side;  while  on  the  other  side  there  is  equal,  and 
more  regrettable,  fulness  and  strenuousness  in  the  fever- 
ish pursuit  of  pleasure,  which  seems  to  seize  inevitably 
on  prosperous  peoples.  Nations  wax  fat  and  kick.  (2) 
Church  services  (i.e.,  of  the  Church  of  England)  are  too 
long  and  tedious.  Some  of  the  prayers  are  beautiful  if 
they  were  not  spoiled  by  too  frequent  iteration.  The 
"confession"  is  historically  interesting,  but  is  rather 
unreal  and  excessive;  and  moreover,  is  not  the  sort  of 
thing  one  wants  to  sing.  And  the  whole  scheme  of  the 
service  has  become  too  mechanical;  has  stiffened  and 
petrified  into  a  thing  which  has  no  life  or  stimulating 
power  in  it.  Of  course,  I  know  that  the  truly  pious 
soul  can  draw  nutriment  from  the  bleakest  and  most 

[255] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

unpromising  material;  but  these  constitute  a  minority, 
and  I  am  talking  about  the  indifference  of  the  majority. 
The  American  (Protestant  Episcopal)  Church  has  suc- 
ceeded in  modifying  this  stiffness,  and  its  authorized 
Prayer  Book  contains  variations  wisely  devised  in  the 
interests  of  elasticity  and  livingness.  (3)  Too  much 
dogma.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much  about  this, 
for  even  the  ecclesiastical  powers  themselves  are  per- 
ceiving that  "belief"  in  metaphysical  propositions  is, 
as  expressed  by  the  majority  of  "believers,"  a  rather 
empty  thing — a  thing  of  words  only.  The  ordinary 
layman  does  not  and  cannot  understand  the  subtle 
metaphysical  propositions  which  embody  or  embodied 
orthodox  doctrine.  Naturally,  therefore,  he  can  get 
up  no  sort  of  interest  in  them ;  and  moreover  they  seem 
to  him  to  be  out  of  touch  with  life.  The  average  layman 
is  a  pragmatist;  that  which  "makes  no  difference"  he 
will  contemptuously  ignore.  And  now  that  he  no  longer 
believes  that  his  eternal  bliss  or  torment  after  death 
depends  on  his  acceptance  or  rejection  of  this  or  that 
dogma,  he  does  not  see  that  it  matters  much  what  he 
or  anybody  else  thinks  about  such  things  as  the  con- 
substantiality  of  the  persons  in  the  Trinity.  I  am  not 
saying  that  these  metaphysical  propositions  are  mean- 
ingless. They  are  not.  Some  of  them  have  very  deep 
and  inspiring  meanings.  E.g.,  it  is  good  to  think  that 
the  begotten  of  the  Father — i.e.,  the  universe  which  the 
Supreme  Power  created — is  of  one  substance  with  him, 
and  is  not  a  slag  of  dead  matter,  utterly  debased  and 
remote  from  God.  But  this  sort  of  interpretation  is 
not  exactly  welcome  to  ecclesiasticism,  which  suspects 
it  of  a  pantheistic  tendency.  And  even  this  interpreta- 
tion, as  well  as  that  of  the  medieval  churchman,  is  too 

[  ^56  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

metaphysical  to  appeal  to  a  practical  generation.  The 
modern  mind  does  not  want  to  "go  to  heaven" ;  it  wants 
to  bring  some  heaven  down  to  earth;  and  it  sees  that 
through  the  application  of  science,  and  general  increase 
of  knowledge,  an  indefinite  amount  of  improvement  in 
the  conditions  of  human  life  is  possible. 

In  short,  the  modern  tendency  is  toward  a  this- 
world  religion.  "One  thing  at  least  is  certain,  this  life 
flies,"  and  there  is  much  work  of  a  useful  kind  to  be 
done.  In  medieval  and  pre-scientific  days,  the  thinker 
was  equally  aware  of  the  imsatisfactoriness  of  the  state 
of  the  world,  but,  having  no  conception  of  the  doctrine 
of  development,  or  of  what  can  be  done  by  studying  and 
controlling  natural  forces,  he  despaired  of  the  future 
here,  and  fixed  his  gaze  on  the  beyond.  We  modems 
have  got  over  the  despair.    We  preach  a  gospel  of  hope. 

This  utilitarianism  is  not  materialism.  I  believe  in 
some  sort  of  a  future  life,  in  the  conservation  of  values, 
in  a  Supreme  Being  in  whom  we  live  and  move,  whose 
purposes  I  can  no  more  comprehend  than  a  phagocyte 
in  my  blood  can  comprehend  my  purposes,  yet  in  whom 
I  am  somehow  playing  a  not  unimportant  part,  as  the 
phagocyte  does  in  my  ovni  body.  Therefore  I  am  no 
materialist.  But  the  modern  utilitarian  tendency  seems 
,  to  me,  on  the  whole,  healthy.  It  is  a  recovery  from  the 
medieval  longsightedness  which  overlooked  that  which 
lay  at  hand,  or,  seeing  it,  despaired  of  improvement. 
The  modern  sees  it  and  tackles  the  job  of  improving  it. 

Consequently  if  by  "the  Church"  is  meant  the  old 
conception  of  religion  as  chiefly  "other-worldly,"  I  view 
indifference  to  it  with  perfect  equanimity  or  even  satis- 
faction. I  think  there  is  more  religion  now  than  ever 
before  in  the  history  of  the  world;  more  mutual  under- 

[257] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

standing,  sympathy,  good- will;  yes,  even  more  rever- 
ence for  "that  which  is  above  us" — in  Goethe's  phrase — 
for  this  very  wonderful  universe  and  for  that  Power 
which  made  it.  This  is  what  I  call  religion.  If  it  is 
now  largely  outside  the  Church — well,  I  don't  see  that 
it  matters,  so  long  as  it  is  in  the  world  at  all.  If  my 
friend  is  my  friend,  it  doesn't  matter  whether  he  has  his 
Sunday  clothes  on  or  not.  If  religion  is  here,  in  increas- 
ing measure,  it  doesn't  matter  whether  it  is  in  the  respec- 
table clothing  of  the  Church  or  not. 

In  this  optimistic  statement  about  our  progress,  I 
do  not  forget  what  I  have  just  said  about  the  feverish 
pursuit  of  pleasure  and  the  strenuous  competition  of 
industrial  life.  These  are,  partially,  at  least,  evils.  But 
the  countervailing  goods  are  greater.  We  are  progress- 
ing. I  have  faith  in  continuous  advance,  continuous 
revelation,  continuous  working  out  of  God's  high  pur- 
poses. 


[258] 


NEWELL   DWIGHT   HILLIS, 
D.D.,   L.H.D., 

BROOKLYN,   N.   Y. 

Pastor  of  Plymouth  Congregational  Church,  Brooklyn, 
since  1899;  born  at  Magnolia,  la.,  Sept.  2,  1858;  was 
educated  at  Lake  Forest  University,  and  McCormick  The- 
ological Seminary,  Chicago;  ordained  to  the  Presbyterian 
ministry,  1887;  held  pastorates  at  First  Church,  Peoria, 
111.,  1887-90;  Evanston,  111.,  1890-94;  Central  Church, 
Chicago,  1 894-99 ;  author  of  The  Investment  of  Influence; 
A  Man's  Value  to  Society;  How  the  Inner  Light  Failed; 
Foretokens  of  Immortality ;  Great  Boohs  as  Life-Teachers; 
Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life;  The  Quest  of  Happi- 
ness; Building  a  Working  Faith;  Success  Through  Self- 
Help;  The  Quest  of  John  Chapman;  Fortune  of  the  Re- 
public; Contagion  of  Character;  Prophets  of  a  New  Era; 
The  Misfortune  of  a  World  Without  Pain;  The  Story  of 
Phcedrus, 

There  never  was  a  time  when  the  claims  of  the  Church 
were  so  strong  and  all-convincing.  And  every  patriot 
and  citizen  and  lover  of  his  kind  should  make  haste  to 
pledge  his  example  and  influence  to  those  forces  that 
make  for  justice  and  mercy,  for  truth  and  love,  for 
obedience  to  Christ,  the  soul's  Saviour,  to  God,  the 
soul's  Father. 

What  is  it  to  be  a  Christian?  From  the  view-point  of 
New  Testament  definition  the  Christian  is  one  who  is 
loyal  to  Christ.  Having  read  Christ's  words,  the  Chris- 
tian feels  that  these  words  command  his  reason.  Look- 
ing out  upon  Christ's  career,  upon  the  beauty  of  his 
life  and  the  spotlessness  of  his  character,  the  Christian 
affirms  that  that  character  conmiands  his  reverent  ad- 
miration.   Having  studied  Christ's  attitude  toward  lit- 

[259] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tie  children,  toward  the  publican,  and  prodigal,  he  is  a 
Christian  who  feels  that  Christ's  bearing  toward  the 
poor  and  weak  commands  his  sympathies.  Having  read 
Christ's  Golden  Rule,  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  his  law 
of  love,  the  Christian  bows  in  loyal  acceptance  of  Christ's 
ideals  of  possible  excellence,  feeling  that  these  ideals 
at  once  condemn  his  past  manner  of  life,  and  reveal 
latent  powers  and  new  possibilities  of  excellence. 
The  emphasis  is  upon  loyalty  to  Christ  as  a  Master 
and  Saviour.  A  man  is  not  a  Christian  because  he  has 
wrought  out  fully  his  idea  of  the  Bible.  That  is  im- 
portant, but  it  is  fidelity  to  a  book.  A  man  is  not  a 
Christian  because  he  has  wrought  out  his  statement  of 
a  creed.  That  is  important,  but  it  is  fidelity  to  a 
philosophy. 

History  tells  of  a  young  paint  grinder  in  the  studio 
of  Italy's  greatest  master,  who  developed  striking  evi- 
dences of  artistic  skill.  When  an  enemy  of  the  great 
teacher  came  to  the  boy  and  urged  him  to  found  a  school 
of  his  own,  saying  that  wealth  and  honors  and  invita- 
tions to  kings'  palaces  might  be  his,  the  youth  answered, 
in  effect:  "I  am  not  ambitious  to  found  a  school  or 
dwell  in  a  palace,  but  I  am  ambitious  to  catch  Angelo's 
spirit  and  reproduce  in  myself  his  ideals."  Now  that 
simple  thought  condenses  in  a  word  the  essence  of  the 
Christian  life.  It  is  an  ambition  to  rise  to  the  level  of 
Christ's  thought,  to  feel  his  throb  of  sympathy  toward 
the  poor  and  weak,  to  abhor  evil  as  he  abhorred  it,  to 
hunger  for  righteousness  as  he  hungered  for  it,  and  to 
walk  with  our  Father  as  Christ  walked  with  his.  He  is 
a  Christian  who  is  loyal  to  Christ  in  thoughts,  sympa- 
thies, friendships,  purposes  and  deeds. 

How  shall  I  become  a  Christian?    In  as  normal  and 

[260] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

natural  a  way  as  one  becomes  a  carpenter  or  a  printer. 
When  a  youth  stands  upon  the  threshold  of  his  career 
he  passes  in  review  the  various  handicrafts  and  profes- 
sions. He  argues  that  he  is  unfitted  to  be  a  lawyer  or 
a  teacher,  or  editor,  because  he  has  no  skill  in  writing 
or  speaking.  Contrariwise,  he  finds  that  the  human 
body  has  such  fascination  for  him  that  he  is  always  try- 
ing to  read  a  face  so  as  to  interpret  the  state  of  the 
person's  health,  and  he  decides  to  enter  the  medical 
school  and  become  a  physician.  Once  the  decision  has 
been  reached,  he  waits  for  nothing  magical  or  mysteri- 
ous. He  simply  buys  a  book  on  anatomy  and  sits  down 
at  his  desk  and  goes  to  work.  When  a  traveler  finds 
himself  going  toward  the  North,  where  dwell  storms 
and  perpetual  winter,  once  he  feels  sure  that  he  is 
moving  in  the  wrong  direction,  he  turns  sharply  upon 
his  heel  and  marches  toward  the  South.  But  in  this  re- 
versal of  his  direction  there  is  nothing  magical,  nothing 
mysterious,  and  when  he  has  turned  toward  the  South 
we  must  not  suppose  that  the  traveler  has  reached  that 
land  of  tropic  fruits  and  flowers.  Perhaps  he  has  taken 
but  one  step  toward  a  sunmier  land  that  is  a  thousand 
miles  away.  Nevertheless,  he  has  started  for  that  glori- 
ous clime.  Thus  the  youth  cleanses  his  mouth  of  pro- 
fanity, and  starts  toward  purity.  He  cleanses  his  ap- 
petite of  gluttony,  and  starts  toward  self-control.  He 
cleanses  his  habits  from  idleness  and  vice,  and  starts 
toward  industry  and  thrift.  These  are  only  first  steps, 
doubtless,  only  rude  beginnings.  Yet  every  refusal  to 
temptation,  every  rebuff  to  passion,  every  right  thought, 
every  noble  aspiration,  are  steps  in  the  right  direction. 
Only  they  are  first  steps,  and  the  man  must  march  on. 
Building  a  character  is  like  building  a  house.    The 

[261] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

architect  excavates  the  cellar,  but  that  is  not  enough. 
He  builds  the  walls,  but  the  rain  and  snow  may  still 
come  in.  He  springs  the  roof,  but  the  rooms  are  bare. 
He  furnishes  and  adorns  the  halls,  parlors,  and  sleeping 
chambers,  but  the  house  is  empty.  At  last  he  brings 
in  his  loved  ones,  and  in  the  sounds  of  little  children 
and  the  words  of  welcome  to  arriving  friends,  makes 
home  bright  and  all  the  days  beautiful.  Not  otherwise 
is  it  in  the  Christian  life.  The  discipline  does  away  with 
every  animal  passion  and  fleshly  impulse.  Upon  the 
foundation  of  Jesus  Christ  he  builds  the  moralities  and 
erects  a  soul  building,  but  the  structure  is  not  complete 
until  the  house,  built  on  good  habits,  right  thoughts 
and  purposes,  is  illuminated  with  all  heavenly  qualities 
of  love,  joy,  peace,  trust.  The  friendship  of  Christ 
completes  man's  life  and  crowns  it. 

Some,  moved  hy  considerations  of  delicacy  and 
honor,  will  say,  am  I  good  enough  to  join  a  Christian 
church?  One  who  is  governed  by  such  considerations 
feels  that  it  is  an  unworthy  and  ungenerous  thing  for 
him  to  announce  himself  as  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ 
unless  he  represents  those  high  and  noble  qualities  that 
Christ  represents.  He  thinks  that  the  Platonist  must 
have  the  qualities  of  intellect  that  characterized  Plato. 
Now,  what  is  a  church?  It  is  a  school  of  morals.  What 
is  Christianity?  It  is  the  science  of  right  living  and 
character  building.  What  is  the  Bible?  It  is  God's 
handbook,  full  of  directions  for  the  building  of  a  worthy 
life,  based  upon  the  foundation  of  Christ.  And  who 
is  the  Christian?  He  is  a  pupil  in  Christ's  school.  But 
nobody  is  received  into  a  school  because  he  is  a  ripe 
scholar.  When  a  child  goes  to  a  school  the  principal 
says:  "What  do  you  know  about  grammar?"    "I  don't 

[262] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

know  anything  about  it;  I  want  to  enter  the  school  to 
learn."  "What  do  you  know  about  Latin  and  Greek?" 
"Nothing,"  the  boy  answers.  "Are  you  up  in  history 
and  science  and  literature?"  "No,  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
know  what  those  big  words  mean,"  the  boy  replies. 
To  which  the  principal  answers,  "Well,  you  are  suffi- 
ciently ignorant  to  be  received.  This  school  is  founded 
for  boys  who  do  not  know,  but  want  to  know."  And 
men  are  to  unite  with  the  Church,  not  because  they  are 
good,  but  because  they  are  bad.  The  Church  is  a  school, 
and  Christ  is  a  teacher.  And  the  disciple  is  a  bad  man 
who  wants  to  become  good,  or  a  good  man  who  wants 
to  become  better,  or  the  best  of  men  who  feels  that  he 
wants  to  be  like  Christ.  All  are  pupils  in  the  school 
of  character  and  human  life,  where  Christ  is  the  one 
Saviour  and  Lord. 

Is  it  my  duty  to  avow  myself  openly  a  disciple  of 
Jesus  Christ  if  I  conscientiously  feel  that  I  am  not 
worthy  to  be  so  ranked  and  recognized?  This  question 
is  influential,  for  the  most  part  secretly,  with  many  who 
earnestly  desire  to  live  the  higher  life,  to  realize  their 
own  best  capacities,  to  serve  their  fellow-men  most  ef- 
fectively, and  who  are  willing  to  accept  the  teaching 
and  the  help  of  Jesus  Christ.  Their  hesitation  is  not 
selfish  or  ignoble.  They  are  sincerely  afraid  that  they 
might  by  their  conduct  as  Christians  injure  the  cause 
they  really  love.  To  those  who  offer  this  consideration 
merely  as  a  pretext  or  excuse  for  not  doing  what  they 
know  they  ought  to  do,  no  answer  will  be  given  here. 
But  to  the  rest,  it  should  be  said  that  a  Christian  church 
ought  not  to  be  more  severe  than  its  Master  in  re- 
quiring attainment  from  beginners.  What  he  required, 
and  all  that  he  required,  was  sincerity  and  thoroughness 

[263] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  purpose.  If  he  could  forgive  and  restore  Peter, 
after  Peter  had  shown  himself,  under  a  sudden  surprise 
of  temptation,  a  liar  and  a  coward,  and  had  even  re- 
lapsed into  his  old  habits,  cursing  and  swearing  like  a 
vulgar  fisherman,  is  he  not  ready,  and  are  his  churches 
not  bound  in  his  name,  to  forgive  and  restore  his  stum- 
bling and  wandering  disciples? 

As  to  the  disrepute  into  which  the  behavior  of 
Christians  may  bring  Christianity,  let  it  be  said,  once 
for  all,  that  this  consideration  was  worn  out  long  ago. 
It  was  the  stereotyped  charge  against  the  Saviour  him- 
self, that  he  included  among  his  disciples  so  many 
sinners.  It  has  been  the  characteristic  of  Christian 
churches  ever  since,  that  their  members,  being  human, 
have  not  been  worthy  examples  of  the  life  they  were 
professedly  trying  to  live.  But  that  was  his  express 
choice.  He  came  to  call  "not  the  righteous,  but  sinners." 
And  he  counted  nothing  hopeless,  save  hypocrisy. 

Now,  they  who  shirk  from  openly  following  him, 
lest  they  be  not  worthy,  if  they  be  sincere,  must  hope 
that  some  day  they  will  have  made  themselves  worthy, 
and  will  be  free  to  avow  their  allegiance  without  mis- 
givings. To  such,  let  it  be  said,  that  Jesus  Christ  prom- 
ised to  the  churches  of  his  disciples  the  spirit  of  guidance, 
comfort  and  inspiration,  and  his  own  perpetual  pres- 
ence. Do  they  really  think  they  can  make  themselves 
"good  enough"  with  greater  ease  or  certainty  by  de- 
clining the  help  thus  promised  through  the  Christian 
brotherhood?  Do  they  not  realize  that,  if  they  sincerely 
purpose  to  follow  and  serve  Christ,  they  will  need  all 
the  help  they  can  get,  through  the  channels  he  has  ap- 
pointed? And  will  the  influence  of  an  open  stand  on  his 
side  and  among  his  people  be  good  or  bad?     Is  there 

[  264  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

anything  about  church-membership  that  tends  to  make 
a  man  relapse  into  old,  unworthy  ways? 

//  I  am  already  living,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  a 
Christian  life,  actively  assisting  by  my  presence,  con- 
tributions, and  personal  labor  in  the  worship  and  work 
of  the  Church,  and  thereby  showing  my  sympathy  there- 
with, is  it  necessary  that  I  should  go  further  and  for- 
mally join  the  Church?  Cannot  a  man  be  saved,  though 
he  be  not  a  church-member?  That  is  a  question  between 
yourself  and  God,  not  between  yourself  and  the  church. 
We  set  no  limits  to  his  mercy.  But  if  you  will  put  your 
argument  in  the  form  of  a  prayer,  saying,  in  substance, 
"Our  Father,  we  have  followed  thy  Son  (to  a  certain 
extent) ;  we  have  obeyed  his  commands  (with  certain  ex- 
ceptions) ;  we  have  kept  company  with  his  disciples 
(taking  care  not  to  be  counted  among  them) ;  we  have 
done  something  to  forward  his  kingdom  on  earth  (de- 
clining to  be  naturalized  as  its  citizen) ;  in  short,  we  have 
tried  to  do  our  duty  to  everybody  except  Jesus  Christ; 
and  we  think  we  ought  to  be  excused  for  our  failure  to 
honor  him  openly" — you  may  be  able  to  imagine  what 
answer  you  would  make  to  such  a  plea. 

But  the  question  we  put  lies  between  you  and  us, 
the  avowed  follower  of  Christ.  Either  you  need  us, 
or  we  need  you — most  probably,  both.  In  the  first  case, 
you  cannot  aflFord  to  reject  our  offered  companionship. 
In  the  second,  you  cannot  afford  to  withhold  your  ut- 
most aid. 

What  is  the  influence  of  a  profession  of  one's  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  upon  conduct  and  character?  In  a  re- 
public the  president  strengthens  reverence  for  free  in- 
stitutions by  taking  the  oath  of  office;  property  also  is 
rendered  more  secure  because  of  that  outer  dramatic 

[265] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

act,  the  signing  of  a  deed;  truth  and  justice  are  pro- 
tected in  the  courts  by  the  solemn  oath  in  which  the 
witness  pledges  himself  to  speak  the  truth.  The  foun- 
dations of  the  home  are  safeguarded  through  that  sol- 
emn public  form  called  the  marriage  ceremony.  But 
more  important  still  that  dramatic  event  called  confess- 
ing Christ  before  men,  and  publicly  pledging  fidelity 
to  the  laws  of  God  and  the  higher  ideals  of  Jesus  Christ. 
During  the  late  war  certain  citizens  declined  to  take 
sides  either  against  slavery  or  for  it,  and  the  children 
feel  that  the  fathers  let  slip  a  great  opportunity.  And 
when  the  sunset  gun  doth  boom  for  man,  and  the  long, 
fierce  battle  with  sin,  superstition,  and  ignorance  hath 
ended,  sad  indeed  will  be  the  lot  of  those  who  meet  the 
apostles,  the  martyrs,  heroes  and  fathers  of  yesterday, 
having  had  no  part  in  the  great  world  battle,  having 
never  received  a  scar  or  won  a  spur,  having  never  sought 
to  correct  the  weakness  of  the  Church  of  to-day  by  lend- 
ing it  their  example  or  influence. 


l^ee-i 


DAVID  STARR  JORDAN,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

STANFORD  UNIVERSITY,   CAL, 

President  of  the  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University,  Cal., 
since  1891;  born  at  Gainesville,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  19,  1851; 
was  educated  at  Cornell;  instructor  of  botany  there,  1871- 
72;  professor  of  natural  history,  Lombard  University, 
1872-73;  principal  Appleton  (Wis.)  Collegiate  Institute, 
1873-74;  teacher  at  the  Indianapolis  High  School,  1874- 
75;  professor  of  biology,  Butler  University,  1875-79;  pro- 
fessor of  zoology,  Indiana  University,  1879-85;  president 
of  the  same,  1885-91;  chief  director  of  the  World  Peace 
Foundation  since  1910;  author  of  A  Manual  of  Vertebrate 
Animals  of  Northern  United  States;  Science  Sketches; 
Fishes  of  North  and  Middle  America,  4  vols,  (with  B.  W. 
Evermann) ;  Care  and  Culture  of  Men;  The  Innumerable 
Company;  Footnotes  to  Evolution;  Imperial  Democracy; 
The  Strength  of  Being  Clean;  Standeth  God  within  the 
Shadow;  Animal  Life;  The  Philosophy  of  Hope;  The 
Blood  of  the  Nation;  Animal  Forms  (with  V.  L.  Kellogg 
and  H.  Heath) ;  Voice  of  the  Scholar;  The  Call  of  the 
Twentieth  Century;  The  Human  Harvest;  Evolution  and. 
Animal  Life  (with  V.  L.  Kellogg) ;  Life's  Enthusiasms; 
College  and  the  Man;  The  Higher  Sacrifice;  The  Religion 
of  a  Sensible  American;  The  Stability  of  Truth;  Unseen 
Empire;  The  Story  of  a  Good  Woman. 

I  MAY  say  that  when  the  general  spirit  of  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  for  simplicity,  truth,  and  peace  is  so  clear,  it  is 
not  necessary  or  desirable  for  us  to  go  back  to  the  quar- 
rels of  the  Middle  Ages  over  points  of  doubt.  A 
theology  which  touches  at  any  corner  the  discoveries  of 
science  is  thereby  assailable. 

The  broader  statement  that  religion  is  fundamen- 
tally the  reason  for  clean  and  right  living  takes  it  away 
from  all  these  petty  questions  on  which  science  will  have 
her  own  opinion,  and  this  opinion  cannot  be  finally 
formulated  perhaps  for  hundreds  of  years. 

Religion  should  be  taught  "in  terms  of  life." 

[267] 


HENRY   CHURCHILL   KING,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  S.T.D., 

OBERLIN,   OHIO 

President  of  Oberlin  College  since  Nov.  19,  1902;  born  in 
Hillsdale,  Mich.,  Sept.  18,  1858;  received  his  education  at 
Oberlin  College,  Oberlin  Theological  Seminary,  and  Har- 
vard University;  tutor  of  Latin,  Oberlin  Academy,  1879- 
81;  in  mathematics,  1881-82;  associate  professor  of  math- 
ematics at  Oberlin  College,  1884-90;  associate  professor  of 
philosophy,  1890-91;  professor,  1891-97;  professor  of  the- 
ology since  1897;  dean  of  Oberlin,  1901-2;  author  of  Out- 
line of  Erdman's  History  of  Philosophy ;  Outline  of  the 
Microcosmos  of  Herman  Lotze;  The  Appeal  of  the  Child; 
Reconstruction  in  Theology;  Theology  and  the  Social 
Consciousness;  Personal  and  Ideal  Elements  in  Education; 
Rational  Living;  Letters  to  Sunday-School  Teachers;  The 
Seeming  Unreality  of  the  Spiritual  Life;  The  Laws  of 
Friendship,  Human  and  Divine;  The  Ethics  of  Jesus; 
Moral  and  Religious  Challenge  of  Our  Times;  Religion 
and  Life. 

In  the  first  place,  there  seem  to  me  to  be,  plainly,  cer- 
tain great  convictions  which  underlie  the  life  of  the 
Church,  that  the  Church  will  naturally  express  in  some 
way. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  not  only  natural  that  the 
Church  should  make  some  expression  of  its  underlying 
convictions,  but  it  is  really  necessary  for  the  sake  of  its 
own  life,  that  it  should  express  them  as  clearly  as 
possible. 

In  the  third  place,  the  formal  statement  which  the 
Church  should  make  of  its  convictions  may  well  deal 
with  the  great,  simple,  fundamental  truths  of  its  faith, 
without  going  into  great  detail  and  certainly  without 
getting  into  disputed  and  controversial  questions. 

[  268  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

In  the  fourth  place,  distinction  may  well  be  made  be- 
tween the  formal  confession  of  faith  of  the  Church,  and 
that  to  which  assent  must  be  given  for  church  member- 
ship. My  own  feeling  is  that  the  Church  should  include 
all  those  who  genuinely  desire  to  be  disciples  of  Christ, 
though  they  may  not  be  prepared  to  assent  to  all  the 
creed  of  the  Church. 

In  the  fifth  place,  the  question  of  the  fundamental 
theology  of  the  Church  may  also  well  be  regarded  as 
another  matter.  Theology  seems  to  me  to  be  a  thought- 
ful, unified,  systematic  account  of  what  religion  means 
to  us.  And  such  a  statement  needs,  in  the  nature  of 
the  case,  to  be  related  to  the  rest  of  the  thought  of  our 
time;  because  it  is  imperative  for  a  man's  own  intellec- 
tual satisfaction  that  he  should  find  it  possible  to  bring 
some  real  unity  into  all  his  thinking.  For  that  reason 
he  will  seek  to  state  the  great,  fundamental  Christian 
truths,  in  such  form  as  will  not  contradict  his  convictions 
in  other  spheres.  The  theologian  will  wish  also  to  state 
all  these  truths  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  them  the  strong- 
est appeal  to  the  men  of  his  own  time,  with  all  their 
peculiar  and  favorite  modes  of  conception.  These 
forms,  therefore,  of  putting  all  Christian  truths  are 
pretty  certain  to  change  materially  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  doctrinal  statements,  also,  in  this  sense, 
should  change.  The  Church  should  be  prepared,  there- 
fore, for  rather  frequent  changes  of  the  ways  in  which 
it  puts  before  others  the  expression  of  its  faith. 


[269] 


GEORGE   TRUMBULL   LADD,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

NEW   HAVEN^   CONN. 

Emeritus  professor  of  Yale  since  1905;  born  at  Paines- 
ville,  O.,  Jan.  19,  1842;  graduated  from  Western  Reserve 
College,  1864^  and  from  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
1869;  acted  as  supply  at  Edinburg,  O.,  1869-71 ;  pastor  of 
Spring  Street  Congregational  Church,  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
1871-79;  professor  of  mental  and  moral  philosophy,  Bow- 
doin  College,  1879-81,  and  the  same  at  Yale,  1881-1905; 
lectured  on  church  polity  and  systematic  theology,  Ando- 
ver Theological  Seminary,  1879-91;  lectured  in  Japan, 
1892,  1899,  1907,  and  in  India  (as  Haskell  lecturer  of 
the  University  of  Chicago),  1899-1900;  author  of  Princi- 
ples of  Church  Polity;  Doctrine  of  Sacred  Scripture; 
Lotze's  Outlines  of  Philosophy  (translation),  6  vols.;  Ele- 
ments of  Physiological  Psychology;  What  is  the  Bible? 
Introduction  to  Philosophy;  Outlines  of  Physiological  Psy- 
chology; Philosophy  of  Mind;  Primer  of  Psychology; 
Psychology,  Descriptive  and  Explanatory;  Philosophy  of 
Knowledge;  Outlines  of  Descriptive  Psychology ;  Essays 
on  the  Higher  Education;  A  Theory  of  Reality;  Philoso- 
phy of  Conduct;  Philosophy  of  Religion;  In  Korea  with 
Marquis  Ito;  Knowledge,  Life  and  Reality;  Elements  of 
Physiological  Psychology ;  The  Teachers'  Practical  Phi- 
losophy, 

THE   CHURCH  AND   THE   PEOPLE 

Why  does  not  the  Christian  Church,  with  its  claims  to 
afford  help,  comfort,  and  redemption,  secure  from  the 
multitudes  more  of  respect,  confidence,  and  allegiance? 
The  question  is  complex,  and  does  not  admit  of  any 
single  answer.  Assuming  the  general  fact  to  be  cor- 
rectly stated  in  the  question,  the  causes  of  the  fact  may 
admit  of  several,  or  even  of  many,  answers.  And  the 
answers  are  not  necessarily  the  same  for  all  the  different 
circumstances  prevailing  in  the  different  parts  of  Chris- 
tendom, or  even  of  our  own  country.    There  are,  how- 

[270] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ever,  four  considerations  that  refer  to  causes  of  wide- 
spreading  and  profound  influence. 

One  of  the  causes  is  of  a  nature,  although  for  the 
present  discouraging  in  its  more  obvious  effects,  to  af- 
ford solid  grounds  for  hope  of  improvement  "in  the 
long  run,"  Among  both  the  intelligent  and  cultured 
classes,  and  also  among  the  uncultured  but  often  no  less 
intelligent  people,  essential  religion  is  coming  to  be  less 
a  matter  of  formal  attachment  to  any  of  the  conventions 
of  organized  Christianity,  or  of  subscription  to  elaborate 
creeds,  or  of  regular  attendance  on  churchly  services,  or 
of  formal  connection  with  ecclesiastical  organizations. 
Indeed,  all  things  of  this  sort  are  not  now  regarded  as 
so  important  for  the  truly  religious  man  as  they  once 
were.  It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  a  wide  differ- 
ence between  Christianity  as  now  representing  these 
sides  of  the  religious  life  and  organization,  and  the 
Christianity  which  can  be  identified  with  the  "religion 
of  Jesus." 

For  this  difference  in  attitude  toward  its  claims,  the 
Christian  Church  is,  doubtless,  itself  in  large  measure 
to  blame.  The  revolt  against  its  claims  as  "established" 
in  these  ways  has  a  certain  encouraging  aspect  of  sin- 
cerity and  of  hopefulness.  So  far  as  the  new  attitude 
of  the  people  toward  the  Church  is  directed  against  its 
excessive  demands  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  and  con- 
duct of  men  to  conform  precisely  and  too  exclusively  to 
its  own  "way  of  salvation,"  with  the  implied  threat  that 
there  is  no  other  way,  or  that  the  sincerity  and  value 
of  a  religious  life  not  led  in  this  exact  way  are  not  to  be 
trusted — so  far  as  the  present  attitude  of  the  people  is 
directed  against  such  claims,  it  is  not  necessarily  to  be 
deprecated. 

[  271  3 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

But  the  revolt  is  excessive;  and  as  judged  by  its 
psychological  foundations,  when  these  are  consciously 
discerned  and  explicitly  announced,  it  is  even  ab- 
surd. Too  often  the  argument  runs — albeit  not  con- 
sciously recognized — somewhat  as  follows:  Religion 
is  not  subscription  to  creeds;  therefore  let  us  do  with- 
out creeds,  or  at  least,  assure  men  that  it  makes  little 
or  no  difference  what  they  believe,  in  order  to  conform 
with  the  demands  of  the  Christian  religion.  Genuine 
religion  is  a  matter  of  feeling;  or  it  is  a  matter 
of  life  (meaning  by  this,  how  one  behaves  oneself 
in  relation  simply  to  others) ;  therefore,  the  use  of 
intellect  in  inquiry  and  in  the  assortment  and  state- 
ment of  opinions  on  religious  questions  is  of  little 
account.  In  rebuke  of  all  this,  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  no  great  human  interest — politics,  science, 
social  reform,  philosophy,  or  religion — can  flourish  im- 
less  it  commands  and  commends  itself  to  the  entire  man. 
Intellect,  feeling,  will — in  a  word,  the  whole  man,  must 
enter  into  the  religious  life,  if  it  is  to  be  sound,  sincere, 
and  efficient.  Doing  good,  or  what  is  covered  by  that, 
to  the  young  collegian,  so  captivating  word — "serv- 
ice"— is  essential  to  the  life  of  religion.  But  that  life 
must  have  its  sources  quickened  and  kept  fresh  and 
strong  by  experiences  which  belong  to  the  individual 
in  lonely  intercourse  with  his  God.  For  the  religious 
man  who  will  be  truly  successful  in  social  service  there 
must  be  interchange  of  thought,  feeling  and  will,  which 
has  reference  to  the  most  thoroughly  individualistic  of 
all  experiences — the  communion  of  one  lonely  soul  with 
one  alone  God.  Therefore,  if  the  Church  will  have  its 
claim  respected  and  regarded,  it  must  claim  the  whole 
man  and  not  a  part  of  him  only. 

[  272  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

But  the  second  cause  why  the  claims  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  are  so  little  regarded  by  the  multitude  is, 
undoubtedly,  in  the  "spirit  of  the  age."  All  over  the 
world,  and  to  an  exaggerated  extent  in  this  country, 
it  is  the  material,  or  perhaps  we  should  say  the  non- 
spiritual,  side  of  human  life  and  development  in  which 
both  the  unchurched  multitude  and  the  multitude  who 
are  nominally  in  the  Church  are  interested,  and  with 
which  they  are  chiefly  occupied.  The  nations  at  large, 
and  the  individuals  controlling  them,  and  the  multitude 
of  them  who  are  only  more  or  less  loosely  controlled  by 
their  governments,  are  absorbed  with  interests  that  are 
not  specifically  those  "of  the  spirit,"  in  the  religious 
meaning  of  this  phrase.  The  effort  has  been  persistent- 
ly made  by  teachers  of  ethics,  in  the  university  and  the 
Church  and  outside  of  both,  to  identify  the  material  and 
the  spiritual  in  human  interests  and  human  life.  The 
truly  religious  man  cannot  properly  refrain  from  an 
active  part  in  the  promotion  and  regulation  of  these  ma- 
terial interests;  and  he  must  show  the  genuineness  of 
his  religion  by  the  way  in  which  he  plays  that  part.  But 
after  all,  for  neither  the  nation  nor  the  citizen,  for  neither 
the  individual  nor  the  multitude,  is  material  prosperity 
the  same  thing  as,  or  in  any  good  degree  the  equivalent 
of,  the  prosperity  of  the  spiritual  life.  Why  is  it  that 
violent  or  dishonest  ways  of  gaining  material  good,  or  of 
escaping  by  divorce,  and  suicide,  and  desertion,  and  de- 
falcation, the  pains  of  material  evil,  are  increasing  with 
all  the  increase  of  material  prosperity  in  this  country? 
It  is  chiefly  because  the  word  of  our  Lord  is  true :  "Man 
does  not  live  by  bread  alone."  He  must  also  feed  him- 
self upon  the  words  that  proceed  out  of  the  mouth  of 
God.    And  what  those  words  are,  let  any  one,  believer 

[273] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  the  dogmas  of  Christianity  or  not,  study  as  they  are 
given  in  the  "Sermon  on  the  Mount."  Both  Church  and 
multitude  must  find  out,  and  acknowledge  in  practical 
ways,  that  not  science  and  sanitation,  not  pure  food  and 
enough  of  it,  not  higher  wages  and  lower  prices  for  the 
purchaser,  not  good  crops  and  cheap  transportation — 
or  all  of  these,  and  other  similar  things,  taken  together 
— can  satisfy  completely  the  needs  of  man.  He  must 
also  have  the  spiritual  goods,  of  trust  in  God,  of  the 
comforting  faith  in  divine  Providence,  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  being  a  friend  of  God,  of  the  hope  of  becoming 
like  Jesus,  a  perfect  son  of  God,  and  also  the  cheer  and 
uplift  of  confidence  in  the  issues  of  life  immortal,  in 
order  to  be  satisfied  completely.  In  these  things  he 
must  yearn  and  strive  for  the  increasing  attainment  of 
such  satisfaction.  On  the  side  of  the  people,  then,  the 
trouble  is  that  they  do  not  appreciate  these  spiritual 
goods  at  their  true  value,  so  absorbed  are  they  in  the  not 
unreasonable  clamor  and  striving  after  a  larger  share  of 
the  material  goods.  And,  alas!  the  trouble  with  the 
Church  is  that  so  many,  so  large  a  proportion,  of  its  own 
members  show  the  same  relative  estimate  of  the  two 
kinds  of  values ;  and  that  the  ministry  does  not  hold  up 
before  the  people,  in  attractive  and  convincing  ways,  the 
higher  worth  of  the  words  that  proceed  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God. 

With  this  second  cause,  a  third  is  most  intimately 
connected.  This  is  the  failure  of  the  Church  to  effect 
the  abolition  of  the  most  flagrant  social  wrongs,  and  the 
triumph  of  the  most  reasonable  and  manageable  of  social 
reforms.  The  redemption  of  humanity  is,  indeed,  no 
easy  task,  no  work  to  be  accomplished  in  a  day  or  in  a 
single  generation.     We  may  say  without  irreverence, 

[  27i  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

that  God  himself  has  been  taking  all  his  energies 
through  countless  centuries  to  accomplish  this  end. 
But  there  are  prevalent  in  Christian  countries  certain 
social  wrongs  which  are  most  obvious  and  flagrant,  and 
which  conventional  Christianity  has  not  done  its  duty 
toward  remedying  or  completely  abolishing.  The  test 
which  the  people  all  over  the  world  are  applying  to  the 
Church  is  its  power  and  efficiency  to  help  in  the  social 
redemption  of  mankind. 

Just  the  other  day,  a  friend  of  mine  who  was  com- 
plaining of  how  his  own  minister  left  him  unfed,  re- 
marked upon  the  encouraging  fact  that  the  "laboring 
classes"  are  changing  in  their  attitude,  not  toward  the 
Church,  but  toward  its  founder,  Jesus.  It  is  "really 
touching,"  said  this  friend,  how  universally  the  labor 
unions  and  their  leaders  are  coming  to  regard  Jesus  as 
the  "poor  man's  friend."  These  same  classes  do  not 
regard  the  Christian  Church  as  the  "poor  man's  friend." 
It  is  not  condescension  or  patronage  or  coddling  which 
these  men  and  women  desire,  or  look  for,  from  or- 
ganized Christianity.  It  is  first  of  all  justice;  and  after 
that  friendship  which  is  sincere  and  fearless  and  faithful. 
But  they  know  that  not  a  few  of  the  men  who  are 
chiefly  responsible  for  the  economic  and  social  condi- 
tions which  they  feel  to  be  so  unjust  and  onerous  are 
prominent  members  or  "supporters"  of  Christian 
churches.  They  know  also,  that  in  not  a  few  cases,  the 
ministers  and  other  officers  in  these  churches  stand  habit- 
ually in  a  position  of  unmanly  and  un-Christian  dread 
of  losing  the  "support"  of  these  persons. 

In  all  the  past  of  human  history  the  religions  of  the 
world  have  met  their  ultimate  test  when  they  have  been 
found  able  or  unable  to  contribute  handsomely  toward 

[275] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  actual  redemption  of  society.  In  modern  Western 
Christendom,  just  now,  this  supreme  test  is  being 
applied  to  conventional  and  organized  Christianity  more 
rigorously  than  ever  before.  The  test  is  essentially  more 
severe  than  ever  before,  because  the  democracy  are 
awakened  and  the  social  conditions  are  vastly  compli- 
cated. Religion,  indeed,  deals  first  with  the  individual; 
it  aims  to  place  him  in  right  relations  to  God,  and  so 
to  his  brethren  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  But  just  in  this 
way — for  it  is  always  the  individual  who  counts — re- 
ligion aims  to  redeem  society.  The  claims  of  the  Church 
are  being  critically  and  even  scornfully  regarded,  by 
multitudes  of  the  people,  while  they  wait  to  see  the 
Church  assert  its  power  to  contribute  more  largely  to 
the  cause  of  a  redeemed  society. 

There  is  a  fourth  and  more  specific  cause  why  the 
multitude  of  the  people  is  so  indifferent  or  even  hostile 
to  the  claims  of  the  Christian  Church.  And  this  failure, 
or  fault,  must  be  laid  chiefly  at  the  doors  of  the  ministry. 
Thoughtful  people,  men  and  women,  the  cultured 
classes  and  the  laboring  classes,  no  longer  look  to  the 
ministry  as  teachers  of  religion.  Our  theological  schools 
are  virtually  encouraging  their  students  in  contentment 
with  smatterings  of  this  and  that,  and  with  what  they 
call  "the  practical,"  to  the  neglect  of  training  them  to 
be  strong,  clear,  well  informed,  and  logical  and  convinc- 
ing exponents  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. But  this  is  what  they  are  hungry  for — namely, 
some  well-grounded  opinions  and  convictions  regard- 
ing great  religious  truths,  to  which  they  may  let  their 
feelings  rise  and  on  which  they  may  act  as  principles 
of  conduct.  The  cultured  and  the  democracy  are  look- 
ing in  every  direction  for  a  knowledge  of  religious  truth, 

[276] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

They  take  in  general  "little  stock"  in  the  ministry  as 
qualified  teachers  of  the  Christian  religion,  or  of  re- 
ligion essentially  and  historically  considered.  And  their 
low  estimate  of  this  side  of  the  "training  of  the  min- 
istry" is  quite  too  obviously  in  accordance  with  the  facts. 
Remedies  for  these  evil  conditions,  like  all  other 
remedial  agencies,  in  order  to  be  largely  and  really  ef- 
fective, must  be  directed  toward  the  gradual  removal  of 
the  causes,  or  sources,  of  such  conditions.  And  on  ac- 
count of  the  complex  nature  of  the  problem — as  I  began 
by  saying — each  workman  will  have  to  be  inventive, 
according  to  his  own  equipment  and  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances which  environ  him. 


[277] 


JAMES   LINDSAY,  D.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  F.R.S.E., 

IRVINE,    SCOTLAND 

Philosopher,  theologian  and  man  of  letters ;  associate  editor 
of  Bibliotheca  Sacra  since  1903;  educated  under  his  father 
and  at  Glasgow  University;  university  extension  lecturer, 
1886-87;  corresponding  member  of  Royal  Academy  of 
Sciences,  Letters  and  Arts,  Padua,  1894;  Hugh  Waddell 
lecturer.  Queen's  University,  Canada,  1899-1900;  member 
of  the  International  Congress  of  Psychology,  Paris,  1900; 
author  of  Progressiveness  of  Modern  Christian  Thought; 
Essays,  Literary  and  Philosophical;  Significance  of  the 
Old  Testament  for  Modern  Theology;  Recent  Advances  in 
Theistic  Philosophy  of  Religion;  Momenta  of  Life;  Studies 
in  European  Philosophy;  The  Fundamental  Problems  of 
Metaphysics;  The  Psychology  of  Belief. 

SYMPOSIUM  ON   CREED   AND   THEOLOGY 

I.  As  to  creed.  I  do  not  think  the  tendency  exists, 
as  in  Lincoln's  time,  to  exact  "assent"  to  "long  com- 
plicated statements  of  Christian  doctrine,"  as  a  condi- 
tion of  church  membership.  But,  no  doubt,  many  still 
think  more  is  expected  of  them  in  this  respect  than  they 
feel  they  can  conscientiously  profess.  I  certainly  think 
it  unwise  to  ask  that  entrants  to  church  membership 
"subscribe  to  statements  that  deal  with  debated  and 
controversial  questions."  I  should  not  greatly  care  to 
adopt  as  "sole  qualification"  Lincoln's  "love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,"  both 
because  there  are  those  who  should  feel  such  a  command 
so  exceeding  broad  as  to  appear  to  them  a  counsel  of 
perfection,  and  because  there  are  others  who  should 
eschew  it  as  savoring  of  legalistic  associations.    I  should 

[  278  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

prefer  something  more  human,  more  simple,  more 
concrete,  and  more  distinctive  of  Christianity  itself. 
Nothing  is  more  distinctive  of  Christianity,  as  it  ap- 
pears in  the  New  Testament,  than  Christ,  "Who  for  us 
men  and  for  our  salvation  came  down  from  heaven,"  as 
the  Nicene  Creed  put  the  matter.  Neander  was  among 
the  first  of  those  who,  in  modern  times,  expressly  made 
this  redemptive  relation  of  Christ  "the  central  point  of 
Christianity."  To  ask  a  personal  belief  in  the  Saviour- 
hood  of  Christ — or  in  the  historic  Christ — is  to  make  a 
more  concrete  and  definite  form  of  appeal  to  the  mass 
of  men,  than  the  more  vague  and  unsatisfactory  "com- 
mon purpose  of  love  and  service  to  God  and  man."  Be- 
lief should,  in  my  judgment,  be  kept  as  objective  in 
character  as  possible.  Besides,  though  Jesus  Christ 
affirmed  that  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by 
him,  it  is  yet  imto  the  Father  we  are  brought  by  him, 
and  thus,  in  the  implicates  of  such  a  belief,  the  purpose 
of  "love  and  service  to  God  and  man"  is  assured  of  a 
better  fulfilment.  The  matter  is  thus  rendered  less 
one  of  doctrinal  import  and  intellectual  assent,  and 
rests  on  a  more  or  less  experiential  basis.  Such  a  pro- 
fession of  belief  in  the  Saviourhood  of  Christ — such 
an  acknowledgment  that  Jesus  is  Lord — seems  a  feasible 
and  reasonable  minimum;  and  it  is  concerned  with  the 
fact  of  his  Saviourhood  rather  than  with  theory  or 
doctrine  about  it.  In  this  fact  all  Christendom  believes. 
It  is  the  fact  which  has  made  Christendom.  It  must  be 
clearly  understood,  however,  that,  in  expressing  the 
personal  preference  now  put  forward,  I  do  not,  in  any 
way  whatsoever,  judge  any  churchly  bodies  or  com- 
munities that  may  choose  other  simple  forms  of  belief. 
I  am  well  content  to  accept,  in  respect  of  these,  the 

[279] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Scriptural  assurance  that,  in  every  nation  he  that  fear- 
eth  God,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  him. 
II.  As  to  theology.  A  "fundamental"  theology  must 
be  theistic  in  "basis":  much  of  the  theism  of  our  time 
is  so  anemic  in  character  as  to  evince  but  little  vitality. 
Theology  must  be  superior  to  any  idle  modern  preju- 
dice as  to  its  being  dogmatic;  the  dogmatizing  instinct 
will  not,  without  nemesis,  be  denied;  atheism,  firmly 
held,  is  as  dogmatic  as  theism.  Of  course,  we  still  await 
an  ideal  dogmatic.  The  "basis"  of  theology  must  be 
ontological:  it  must  take  God  as  the  Ground  and  the 
Cause  of  the  world,  and,  as  such,  both  immanent  and 
transcendent.  It  will  not  despise  the  aid  of  metaphysics, 
whose  precise  function  has  been  to  show  the  necessity 
to  thought  of  postulating  such  a  transcendental  object 
as  ground  and  base  of  all  the  phenomena  known  to  ex- 
perience. Doctrine  de  Deo  is  "fundamental"  to  the- 
ology, as  ultimately  determinative  of  our  views  of  crea- 
tion, of  providence,  and  of  all  that  is  vital  to  faith  and 
life.  Theology,  as  theistic,  must  set  forth  God,  as  the 
absolute  Personality,  distinct,  as  such,  from  the  uni- 
verse; it  must  show  how  futile  are  the  objections  to  such 
a  mode  of  conceiving  him;  and  it  must  recognize  him, 
in  a  way  too  seldom  done,  as  the  absolute  Reason  no 
less  than  the  absolute  Will.  It  must  find  in  him  not 
only  the  Supreme  Being,  but  the  one  absolutely  perfect 
ethical  Being.  Advancing  from  le  Dieu  faineant,  the- 
ology will  seek  the  God  who,  in  the  realm  of  ends  and 
manifestation,  is  found  in  nature  and  in  art,  in  science 
and  in  philosophy,  in  literature  and  in  life,  in  history 
and  in  experience.  With  God  as  the  absolute  Reality, 
theism  sets  the  universe  on  a  spiritual,  or,  if  any  will, 
a  supernatural  "basis,"  the  visible  order  of  things  rest- 

[280] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  on  an  order  unseen  or  supernatural.  Now,  of  the 
knowledge  of  God,  in  the  senses  just  put  forward,  we 
may  say,  as  a  German  theologian  (Kaftan)  once  did, 
that  "it  is  more  objective  than  all  other  knowledge, 
since  it  has  reference  to  God,  to  the  Reality  which  sus- 
tains and  conditions  all  other  reality."  The  objective 
bases  of  belief,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  are  of 
unspeakable  importance,  in  view  of  the  infinite  subjec- 
tivity of  our  time.  But  there  is,  on  the  subjective  side, 
a  psychology  of  theism  whose  significance  is  not  to  be 
imder-estimated.  The  objective  realities  owe  their  im- 
portance, not  alone  to  what  they  in  themselves  are,  but 
also  to  what  we  are,  as  conditioning  the  result.  Our 
spiritual  nature  is  such  that  the  psychological  principles 
which  constitute  the  subjective  factor  of  a  theistic  faith 
lead  us  to  seek  a  spiritual  significance  in  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  nature  and  all  the  facts  of  experience.  But 
there  are  pitfalls  in  the  use  of  psychology  in  religious 
or  theological  matters  that  call  for  careful  avoidance, 
now  that  the  method  has  been,  in  certain  respects,  fre- 
quently over-rated.  I  am  content  here  to  remark  that 
the  grounds  of  theistic  belief  in  God  lie  far  more  deeply 
rooted  in  man's  mental  and  spiritual  constitution  than 
can  be  found  in  any  syllogistic  reasoning  or  argument, 
that  is  to  say,  when  due  account  is  made  of  the  testi- 
mony of  our  speculative  powers,  and  of  that  of  our 
moral  reason  or  conscience.  We  have  the  more  serious 
business  of  accounting  for  ourselves  than  of  merely 
finding  due  cause  for  the  world.  I  venture  to  affirm 
that,  after  not  a  little  depreciation,  both  wise  and  foolish, 
on  the  part  of  philosophers  and  theologians,  the  so- 
called  theistic  "proofs"  remain,  not  as  in  any  strict  sense, 
"proofs,"  but,  as  a  distinguished  American  theologian 

[281] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

has  said,  "as  forms  in  which  the  invincible  convictions  of 
our  rational  and  religious  nature  find  expression."  The- 
ology, however,  must  be  not  only  theistic  but  definitely 
Christian,  and  Christian  theology  is  only  the  scientific 
expression  of  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion.  As 
I  have  said  elsewhere, — "It  simply  takes  those  truths 
as  they  are  implicitly  presented  in  the  spiritual  con- 
sciousness, and  seeks,  by  an  endeavor  to  rationalize 
and  interpret  what  is  so  presented,  to  give  unity  and 
coherency  to  the  whole." 

Again,  as  to  the  "direction"  of  theology,  I  may  say 
of  it,  in  accordance  with  the  views  just  presented,  that  it 
must  take  the  form  of  a  growing  union  between  sub- 
ject and  object,  between  our  spiritual  consciousness 
and  the  being  of  God,  between  faith  itself  and  objective 
Christianity.  In  well-directed  handling  of  new  social 
problems,  theology  will  prove  the  sanctifying  light,  as 
well  as  the  stimulating  guide  of  all  sound  treatment  of 
new  intellectual  issues.  She  will,  of  course,  welcome 
the  modifying  impact  of  the  sciences,  but  ought  in  her 
turn  to  do  something  in  the  way  of  leading  the  van  of 
intellectual  progress.  Whether  she  has  done  what  she 
might  in  this  latter  respect  is  a  different  matter,  but,  in 
any  case,  she  has  plenteous  room  for  progress. 

III.  We  are  thus  brought  to  consider  the  mode  of 
relating  theology  "to  the  literary,  scientific,  and  philo- 
sophical certainties  of  our  time."  This  suggests  to  one's 
mind,  first  of  all,  the  enormous  discount  to  be  made, 
in  the  number  of  "certainties"  in  all  these,  in  any  con- 
sensus of  the  competent,  as  compared  with  the  ordinary 
current  conceptions  on  the  subject.  The  "certainty" 
zone,  in  human  knowledge,  is  a  comparatively  small 
one.    However,  without  dwelling  upon  that,  I  shall  say 

[  282  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

a  little  on  the  "certainties"  of  each  of  these  spheres  sep- 
arately. 

1.  The  literary.  Among  the  most  accepted  of 
the  "certainties"  in  this  sphere  is  the  saying  that  lit- 
erature has  to  do  with  life.  But  theology  also  has  to 
do  with  life,  being  itself  no  more  than  the  reflex  of 
Christian  thought,  life,  and  experience.  But  the  the- 
ologic  conception  of  life,  as  we  now  understand  it,  is 
so  exceeding  broad,  generous,  expansive,  that  it  can — 
as  it  must — leave  literature  wholly  free.  It  asks  only 
that  nothing  in  the  spirit  or  essence  of  literary  treat- 
ment shall  be  discordant  with  the  ethical  aim  or  the  re- 
ligious essence  of  life,  as  understood  under  the  theologic 
conception.  Literature  has  given  theology  even  more 
than  she  asked,  as,  for  example,  the  theological  novel. 
For  we  do  not  want  in  literature  pseudo-theology  or 
half-baked  scientific  theory  or  charlatanry  of  any  sort, 
but  literature  as  literature,  pure,  undefiled,  inspiring, 
exquisite.  Our  greatest  poets  have,  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  done  much  more  for  theology  than  she  had 
any  title  to  ask,  or  any  right  to  expect ;  so  doing,  it  was 
still  theology  that  proved  their  light  and  inspiration; 
theology  has,  nevertheless,  by  no  means  failed  in  the 
keenness  of  her  appreciation.  These,  too,  are  "cer- 
tainties," and  not  to  be  gainsaid;  to  appreciate  what 
this  advance  means,  one  has  only  to  recall  the  spirit  and 
results  of  eighteenth  century  literature.  If  the  inner 
eye  of  poetry  be,  as  I  have  elsewhere  advanced,  "fixed 
on  the  ideal,  which  she  seeks  to  imprison,  that  therewith 
she  may  interpenetrate,  inspire,  and  spiritualize  the  ac- 
tual," then  the  relation  of  theology  to  such  literature 
can  only  be  one  of  community  of  aim,  and  harmony  or 
agreement  of  spirit,  while  each  works  out  its  own  inde- 

[  283  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

pendent,  free,  and  distinctive  mission.  Each  has  need 
of  the  other,  and  between  them  need  be  no  strife;  we 
have  need  of  both,  as  each  of  them,  in  its  own  way,  finds 
the  divine  element  in  life,  and  helps  us  bear  the  weary 
and  the  heavy  weight  of  this  unintelligible  world. 

2.  The  scientific.  The  so-called  "certainties"  of 
science  have  been  flaunted  before  theology,  and  the 
world  in  general,  to  a  very  imposing  extent,  by  people 
who  did  not  realize  that  these  are,  in  reality,  only  proba- 
bilities, admitting,  as  such,  of  some  possible  doubt. 
Science,  it  must  be  plainly  said,  does  not  deal  in  abso- 
lute "certainties."  As  Jevons  said,  in  his  treatment  of 
the  principles  of  science:  "Perfect  knowledge  alone 
can  give  certainty,  and  in  nature  perfect  knowledge 
would  be  infinite  knowledge,  which  is  clearly  beyond 
our  capacities."  Uncertainty  in  the  facts  of  nature  there 
is  none,  but  there  is  always  defect  in  our  knowledge — 
or  science — of  them.  How  great  is  the  strife  of  theories 
that  still  enshroud  in  mystery  such  primal  scientific  ele- 
ments as  ether,  matter,  and  energy !  ■  It  is  only  too  often 
forgotten  that  science,  though  rigid,  reasoned,  and  me- 
chanical, is  yet  assumptive,  uncritical,  and  dogmatic. 
This,  of  course,  is  perfectly  understood  by  all  who  are 
really  versed  in  the  philosophy  of  science.  Those  who 
make  most  of  the  "certainties"  of  science  are  unthink- 
ing persons  whose  talk  is  of  nothing  deeper  than  the 
testimony  of  common  sense  to  the  external  world.  They 
have  not  seen  that  science  is  not  the  fundamental  thing; 
that,  as  a  noted  scientist  has  said,  "It  is  essentially  super- 
ficial, and  not  fundamental ;"  and  that  the  reality  of  its 
outward  world  must  first  be  guaranteed.  This,  before 
we  can  blindly  take  the  universe  as  self-contained  and 
self-sufiicient,  in  the  ordinary  scientific  way.    The  truth 

[284] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

is,  that  not  the  "certainties,"  but  the  far  from  settled 
character  of  scientific  conclusions  as  to  the  constitution 
of  the  world,  is  what  most  deeply  strikes  one  to-day,  if 
his  vision  happens  not  to  be  obscured  by  the  scientific 
habit  of  mind.  This,  in  spite  of  Sir  Oliver  Lodge's 
large,  uncritical  en  bloc  creed  of  "modern  science,"  to 
which  I  should  not  like  to  have  to  subscribe.  Only  a 
very  large  faith-talent  could  accept  most  of  these  scien- 
tific articles  of  faith  as  "certainties,"  rather  than  as 
provisional  forms  of  knowledge  based  on  scientific 
convention.  Nothing  is,  in  truth,  more  superficial  and 
absurd  than  the  widely  prevalent  notion  that  the  "cer- 
tainties" of  science  are  more  solid  and  sure  than  those 
of  theology.  I  do  not  say  that  inductive  theology  is  all 
of  theology,  but  I  do  affirm  that  inductive  theology 
rests  on  probability,  just  as  all  inductions  in  the  physi- 
cal sciences  also  are  only  probable.  The  relations  of 
theology  to  science  are  clearly  such  that  science  must 
be  allowed  to  hold  on  its  own  way  without  any  intrusion 
of  theological  dogma,  while  theology  must  be  equally 
immune  from  scientific  dogmatism,  since,  on  the  prob- 
lems of  theology  proper,  science  can  have  nothing  to 
say.  This  does  not  dispense  theology,  however,  from 
obligation  to  welcome  and  incorporate  what  science  may 
find  or  ascertain  as  to  the  methods  and  facts  of  God's 
working  in  nature  or  the  world.  So  doing,  theology  is, 
like  Kepler,  thinking  God's  thoughts  "after"  him,  only 
that  the  thinking  is  not,  in  the  finite  case,  of  absolutely 
full  and  certain  truths.  But,  whenever  we  pass  from 
methods  of  operation  to  the  divine  Worker  behind 
these,  and  to  questions  of  the  origination  and  the  end 
of  all  things,  science  is  no  longer  in  court,  these  lying 
beyond  her  sphere  and  ken. 

[285] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

3.  The  philosophical.  Philosophy  has,  no  doubt, 
what  many  would  call  its  accepted  "certainties" — ^its 
necessities  of  thought,  its  immediacies  of  experience,  its 
world  of  spirit,  and  the  rest — but  philosophy  always 
remains  a  human  product ;  it  has  never  an  issue  that  is 
raised  beyond  all  possible  dispute;  and  it  never  as- 
sumes a  final  form.  It  does  not  offer  any  definite  body 
of  truth,  such  as  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  professes  to  find 
in  what  he  is  pleased  to  term  "orthodox  science."  It  is 
not  an  inquiry,  however,  of  a  detached  and  self-con- 
tained order,  for  it  is  the  actual,  every-day  world  of 
experience  which  it  seeks  to  explain.  Philosophy  has  no 
great  difficulty  in  accepting  the  statement  of  Leibnitz, 
in  his  metaphysical  treatment,  that  "every  true  predica- 
tion has  some  basis  in  the  nature  of  things."  Its  great 
postulation  of  the  Absolute  may,  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, be  taken  as  a  positive  "certainty."  But  this 
"certainty"  gives  place  to  probability,  on  an  inductive 
basis,  as  soon  as  we  begin  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of 
this  Absolute — its  what  and  not  merely  its  that.  The- 
ology is  itself,  as  the  illustrious  Vinet  said,  "une  philoso- 
phies dont  la  base  est  donnee"  so  that,  starting  from 
what  is  given,  it  works  over  the  historic  products  which 
are  its  material,  in  a  really  critical  and  philosophical 
manner.  Theology  will  relate  itself  sympathetically  to 
philosophy,  to  which  it  owes  an  incalculable  debt,  while 
maintaining  its  own  freedom  and  independence,  and 
declining  to  be  allied  or  attached  to  any  of  the  par- 
ticular philosophical  systems.  Modern  theology  has 
quite  overpassed  such  a  survival  of  unsympathetic  atti- 
tude toward  philosophy  as  has  been  lately  exemplified 
in  Prof.  W.  P.  Paterson's  unprogressive  and  unfruitful 
work  on  the  Rule  of  Faith — an  attitude  put  to  shame 

[  286  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

by  Calvin's  fine  Philosophia  prceclarum  est  Dei  donum. 
The  Absolute  of  theology  will  be  no  static  Absolute, 
but  the  Absolute  Personality,  infinite  Possessor  of  all 
mind  possibilities  and  powers — one  who  is  manifested 
in  all  the  visible  universe.  Yes,  manifested  in  his  works, 
and  made  known  and  manifest  in  human  experience. 
Him,  therefore,  the  invisible  Cause  of  all  visible  effects, 
we  come  to  know  as  the  objective  complement  of  our 
being — our  first  and  our  true  Other — ^in  all  its  spiritual, 
social,  and  physical  dependencies  and  needs. 

IV.  "Can  a  theology,"  it  is  asked,  "be  imassailable 
and  final  that  does  not  accord  with  the  assured  results 
of  science?"  An  enlightened  theology  will  naturally 
put  itself  into  line  with  "the  assured  results  of  science." 
Apologists  even  of  the  Roman  Catholic  jChurch  claim 
for  her,  in  the  words  of  Wilfrid  Ward,  "a  power  of  as- 
similation and  of  ultimate  consolidation  of  her  teach- 
ing, in  its  relation  to  assured  scientific  advance,  or 
well-examined  and  tenable  hypothesis."  Not  less,  but 
more,  may  be  expected  of  all  Protestant  theologies. 
Theology,  one  may  presume,  has  not  forgotten  the  use- 
ful distinction  drawn  by  Martineau,  that  "Science  dis- 
closes the  method  of  the  world,  but  not  its  Cause;  re- 
ligion its  Cause,  but  not  its  method."  If  we  take  it 
to  be  a  fundamental  axiom  of  theology  that  God  cannot 
lie,  then  theology  will  feel  assured  that  the  expressions 
of  his  mind  in  the  world  of  science  cannot  conflict  with 
those  in  the  world  of  revelation.  Theology  has  wel- 
comed all  the  light  of  science  upon  the  process  and 
method  of  creation,  and,  so  long  as  theology  and  science 
keep  each  to  its  own  sphere  and  ken,  there  can  be  no 
clash  or  collision  between  them.  Theology  will  espe- 
cially relate  itself  to  the  scientific  doctrine  of  evolution, 

[287] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

conceived  with  theistic  premise,  and  will  thus  establish 
its  connection  with  current  thought.  It  has,  indeed, 
pretty  well  done  so  in  this  direction,  since  the  days  when 
Dr.  George  Matheson  wrote.  Can  the  Old  Faith  live 
with  the  New?  Well  it  might,  for  as  Dr.  Munger  once 
remarked,  "in  evolution  we  see  a  revelation  of  God, 
while  in  previous  theories  of  creation,  we  had  only  an 
assertion  of  God."  The  evolutionistic  habit  of  mind, 
however,  sets  before  us  only  an  ideal  of  progressively 
realized  certainty,  and  yields  not  any  such  final  and 
irreducible  form  of  knowledge  as  would  accord  with 
more  purely  rationalistic  ideals  of  thought.  There  is 
a  sense  in  which  the  saying  of  a  French  writer  is  true, 
that  "the  true  synonym  of  evolution  is  not  change,  but 
permanence."  For  all  that,  the  permanence  of  phe- 
Momena  is  a  permanence  of  change,  their  nature  and 
essence  being  mutation.  The  truly  real  and  immutable 
are  found  when  we  have  transcended  the  world  of  sense. 
For  the  actuality  of  phenomena  just  means  transmu- 
tation. 

Of  course,  it  is  alone  of  "the  assured  results  of 
science"  we  have  been  speaking,  science  being  many 
parts  theory,  and  few  parts  fact;  for  the  history  of 
science  is  strewn  with  the  wreckage  of  discarded  theories, 
phlogiston,  the  corpuscular  theory  of  light,  and  the 
rest.  So  little  are  scientific  theories  "final  and  unas- 
sailable," that  we  do  better  to  remember,  with  Emer- 
son, that  science  may  have  her  flank  turned  to-morrow. 
Science  and  theology  may  yet  make  "one  music"  in  our 
hearts  and  lives,  if  only  each  will  let  the  other  pursue 
its  own  free,  independent,  reverential  way.  For  truth 
is  one,  and  not  a  house  divided  against  itself.  Of  school- 
masters to  bring  men  to  Christ  there  have  been  many; 

[288] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  science  is  one  of  them,  albeit  scientists  not  a  few 
have  failed  to  find  the  way. 

V.  Our  final  inquiry  is,  as  to  the  need,  for  purposes 
of  effectiveness,  that  a  message  enforce  the  things  "that 
constitute  the  sum  total  of  the  values  of  human  life, 
whatever  their  source  may  be."  My  position  is,  that 
the  message  must  assuredly  do  so,  not  only  to  be  ef- 
fective, but  in  justice  to  the  truth.  But  I  think  that, 
while  including  all  partial  or  relative  values  that  are 
contributory  to  "the  sum  total  of  the  values  of  human 
life,"  it  must  find  the  ultimate  core  of  value  in,  and 
lay  the  central  insistence  on,  the  conscious  spiritual  self, 
with  its  boundless  possibilities  of  growth  and  expansion. 
This  I  regard  as  the  ultimate  standard  or  judgment  of 
value,  which  would  abide  if  earth  itself  became  a  muddy 
vesture  of  decay.  Other  values  are  important,  however, 
as  ministering  to  this  value,  supreme  in  the  world  of 
spiritual  values.  These  other  values — ^be  they  what 
they  may,  friendship,  work,  beauty,  pleasure,  ambition, 
effort,  and  the  rest — finally  fail  to  be  satisfying  or  self- 
supporting,  and  the  self  or  soul  of  ultimate  value  rests 
on  communion  with  God,  or  the  companionship  of  the 
eternal,  as  its  final  satisfaction.  In  so  recognizing  the 
worth  of  these  other  values,  and  in  speaking  of  a  "sum 
total"  of  human  values,  we  must,  it  seems  to  me,  not 
be  understood  as  suggesting  anything  of  the  nature  of 
quantitative  ideals,  or  doing  anything  to  obscure  the 
grand,  inspiring  fact  that  life  is  a  qualitative  thing, 
whose  intensive  values  are  of  primary  importance.  For 
the  religious  mind,  God  is  the  first  and  the  supreme 
certainty;  the  world,  too,  is  for  it  a  certainty,  as  being 
God's  world;  the  spiritual  self  or  soul  is  for  it  also  a 
certainty,  having  God  as  its  fundamental  presupposi- 

[  289  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tion.  To  it,  all  things  belong,  and  have  interest  and 
value.  For  all  that,  the  world  is  as  nothing  to  the  life 
or  the  soul :  what  should  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  the 
soul?  The  soul  or  spiritual  self  veritably  subsumes  all 
conceptions  of  value.  Thus  the  self,  as  religious,  puts 
an  absolute  value  upon  itself,  in  virtue  of  its  relation 
to  the  Absolute  Being.  All  other  values,  included  in 
the  "sum  total"  of  values,  have  their  partial  and  relative 
values,  but  one  may  recall  the  words  of  that  distin- 
guished thinker,  T.  H.  Green,  that  "our  ultimate  stand- 
ard of  worth  is  an  ideal  of  personal  worth."  An  ef- 
fective message  will  know  how  to  bring  all  the  worths 
and  values  so  to  bear  upon  human  needs,  hopes,  and 
aspirations,  as  to  evoke  the  responsive  cry — 
"More  life  and  fuller,  that  we  want," 


[290] 


FRIEDRICH  ARMIN  LOOFS,  Ph.D.,  Th.D., 

HALLE^   GERMANY 

Professor  of  church  history  at  the  University  of  Halle 
since  1888;  born  at  Hildesheim,  Germany,  June  19,  1858; 
educated  at  the  universities  of  Tubingen,  Gottingen,  and 
Leipsic ;  privat-docent  for  church  history  at  the  University 
of  Leipsic,  1882-86;  associate  professor  at  the  same  uni- 
versity, 1886-87;  in  the  same  capacity  at  the  University 
of  Halle,  1887-88;  author  of  Zur  Chronologic  der  auf  die 
frdnhischen  Synoden  des  heiligen  Bonif alius  besUglichen 
Brief e  der  bonifasischen  Brief sammlung ;  De  antiqua  Bri- 
tonum  Scotorumque  ecclesia;  Leontius  von  Byzanz  und  die 
gleichnamigen  Schriftsteller  der  griechischen  Kirche;  Die 
Handschriften  der  lateinischen  Uebersetzung  des  Irendus 
und  ihre  Kapitelteilung ;  Leitfaden  zum  Studium  der  Dog- 
mengeschichte;  Studien  iiber  die  dem  Johannes  von  Da- 
maskus  zugeschriebenen  Parallelen;  Predigten,  Die  Auf  er- 
st ehungsberichte  und  ihr  Wert;  Eustathius  von  Sebaste  und 
die  Chronologic  der  Basiliusbriefe;  Schopfungsgeschichte, 
Siindenfall  und  Thurmbau  zu  Babel;  Anti-Haechel,  eine 
Replik  nebst  Beilagen  (translated  into  English) ;  Grund- 
linien  der  Kirchengeschichte  in  der  Form  von  Disposi- 
tionen;  Symbolik  oder  christliche  Konfessionskunde;  Nes- 
toriana,  die  Fragmente  des  Nestorius;  What  is  the  Truth 
about  Jesus  Christ? 

Every  eflFort  to  establish  a  new  confession  of  faith  for 
our  times  seems  to  result  only  in  conflict  and  in  tempo- 
rary divisions.  And  in  the  old  confessions,  provided 
they  be  understood  in  connection  with  the  tendencies 
of  the  times  in  which  they  came  into  being,  there  inheres 
so  much  of  value  that  it  is  not  expedient  simply  to  throw 
them  overboard.  Moreover  in  every  church  there  are 
those  who  are  glorifiers  of  the  past,  who  find  only 
in  the  formulas  of  that  past  the  correct  expression  of 
their  belief.  So  that  it  would  not  be  well  for  any  church 
to  sever  itself  from  its  history.    Our  need  is  rather  a 

[291] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

different  attitude  to  the  past,  to  the  confessions,  to  all 
dogmatic  thinking.  It  is  the  "first  Jie,"  the  fundamental 
error,  of  all  orthodoxy  to  look  upon  accord  with  doctrine 
as  the  first  and  most  pressing  demand.  Lincoln  was 
entirely  right  when  he  expressed  the  wish  that  the  sole 
precondition  of  membership  which  churches  imposed 
were  readiness  to  obey  the  word  of  Jesus  (Luke  10 :  27) . 
But  it  is  an  error,  in  which  Lincoln  appears  to  have 
shared,  to  suppose  that  by  such  means  doctrine  is  side- 
tracked. By  "doctrine"  (when  rightly  understood)  is 
meant  the  thoughts  and  cognitions  which  God's  revela- 
tion opens  up  to  faith  in  his  grace  as  made  known  by 
experience.  In  "doctrine,"  then,  individuals  grow  in 
proportion  to  their  spiritual  and  religious  maturity. 
Each  individual  makes  a  progress  in  his  real  life  that 
varies  with  the  measure  of  his  experience  and  his  spirit- 
ual capacity.  And  the  ability  to  manifest  the  love  which 
Jesus  commanded  grows  in  proportion  to  our  compre- 
hension of  the  love  that  God  has  shown  us.  Modern  un- 
belief undervalues  the  power  of  the  Christian  faith.  But 
the  knowledge  that  comes  by  Christian  faith  must  be 
recognized  as  the  result  of  Christian  growth  instead  of 
being  made  its  pre-condition. 

As  regards  the  laity  no  churches  seem  to  me  able  to 
make  a  dogmatic  pre-demand.  In  many  of  the  churches, 
it  is  true,  there  are  excess  of  liturgical  formulas,  obliga- 
tory use  of  confessions  in  the  usual  services,  and  some- 
times unpedagogical  sermons,  to  which  there  is  fre- 
quently added  the  pressure  of  an  "ecclesiastical"  party- 
press,  all  of  which  seems  to  justify  the  opposite  impres- 
sion. Now,  I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  the  liturgy  and 
the  formulas  imposed  by  authority  should  abnegate  the 
connection  with  the  past,  or  that  they  should  be  sur- 

[  292  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

rendered  to  the  unlimited  arbitrariness  of  subjectivity. 
But  what,  it  seems  to  me,  must  fall  away  is  the  insistence 
with  which  the  old  formulas  obtrude  themselves  and  the 
strictness  of  liturgical  compulsion. 

As  regards  the  clergy,  I  concede,  the  question  brings 
greater  difficulty.  Fortunately  only  a  few  churches  are 
so  conservative  as  to  make  the  theology  of  the  past  bind- 
ing upon  its  ministry.  Nevertheless  the  fact  that  in  this 
respect  a  certain  amoimt  of  freedom  is  granted  does 
not  do  away  with  the  difficulty.  The  confused  condition 
of  the  present  carries  with  it  the  consequence  that  not  a 
few  of  the  clergy,  particularly  in  their  early  ministry,  in 
their  faith-cognitions  find  themselves  at  variance  with 
the  tradition  of  the  Church.  In  spite  of  this,  I  firmly 
believe  that  the  largest  possible  freedom  is  the  best  guar- 
antee of  a  sound  development  both  for  individuals  and 
for  the  Church  as  a  whole.  Polemics  against  the  basal 
faith-convictions  of  the  Church,  unloving  hostility  to 
conservative  believers,  or  opposition  to  the  fundamental 
platforms  of  ecclesiastical  government  are,  it  is  true,  in- 
consistent with  teaching  activity.  Such  a  freedom  is 
impossible.  But  within  the  limits  here  indicated,  my 
ideal  is  to  concede  the  largest  liberty  to  every  co- worker 
whose  sincere  wish  it  is  to  preach  the  gospel  in  exactly 
this  historical  fellowship,  who  is  also  fired  with  the  sin- 
cere purpose  to  use  what  he  has  to  build  up  and  not  to 
tear  down. 

Churches  have  ever  been  conservative  in  character, 
and  such  they  will  continue  to  be.  The  unhistorical 
radicalism  that  recklessly  presses  toward  modernization 
has  no  understanding  of  this  native  conservatism,  and 
will  therefore  soon  discover  that  it  has  no  part  in  a  really 
capable  reconstruction  of  any  church. 

[293] 


JOHN  STUART  MACKENZIE,  Litt.D.,  LL.D., 

CARDIFF^   WALES 

Professor  of  logic  and  philosophy  at  the  University  College 
of  Southern  Wales  and  Monmouthshire  since  1895;  bom 
near  Glasgow,  Feb.  29,  I860;  received  his  education  at 
Glasgow  and  Cambridge  universities,  and  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Berlin ;  assistant  lecturer  on  philosophy  and  Cobden 
lecturer  on  political  economy  in  Owens  College,  Manches- 
ter, 1890-93;  member  of  the  Editorial  Committee  of  the 
International  Journal  of  Ethics;  president  of  Moral  Edu- 
cation League,  since  1908;  author  of  An  Introduction  to 
Social  Philosophy;  A  Manual  of  Ethics;  Outlines  of  Metor 
physics;  Lectures  on  Humanism, 

The  question  that  you  raise  as  a  subject  for  a  sym- 
posium is  certainly  one  of  real  importance.  Some 
organization  for  the  support  of  ethical  and  religious 
ideals  seems  to  be  essential  for  human  progress;  and 
it  is  no  doubt  true  that  the  existing  organizations  for 
this  purpose  are  greatly  hampered  by  their  antagonism 
to  one  another  and  by  the  increasing  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing adhesion  to  their  elaborate  creeds.  I  certainly  think 
that  the  statement  you  quote  from  Abraham  Lincoln 
expresses  what  very  many  feel.  I  doubt,  however, 
whether  the  difficulty  would  be  satisfactorily  met  by 
adopting  the  qualification  for  membership  which  he  sug- 
gested. My  chief  grounds  for  this  doubt  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  The  proposed  qualification  is  in  the  form  of  a 
commandment,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  rather  than  of  a 
belief;  and  it  is  consequently  not  altogether  easy  to 
know  what  it  is  to  be  taken  as  implying. 

[294] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

2.  If  we  are  to  understand  that  no  one  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  membership  who  does  not,  in  the  fullest  sense, 
obey  this  commandment,  I  am  afraid  that  the  mem- 
bers would  be  either  very  few  or  very  insincere — ^per- 
haps both.  The  love  of  one's  neighbor  cannot  be  di- 
rectly willed,  but  only  gradually  cultivated;  and  the 
love  of  God,  I  should  suppose,  must  be  of  even  slower 
growth. 

3.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  what  is  meant  is  only  that 
those  who  are  to  be  admitted  to  membership  are  to 
pledge  themselves  to  act,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  spirit 
of  the  commandment,  the  difficulty  still  remains  that 
the  interpretation  of  it  would  raise — ^what,  I  think,  you 
rightly  deprecate — "debated  and  controversial  ques- 
tions." The  conception  of  God  is  one  that  raises  many 
questions.  Are  we  to  accept  it  in  the  sense  in  which 
it  was  understood  by  Plato  or  by  Spinoza  or  by  Mar- 
tineau,  or  in  what  other  sense?  We  know,  also,  from 
Bishop  Butler's  twelfth  sermon,  that  several  different 
interpretations  may  be  put  upon  the  injunction,  "Love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  I  fear,  therefore,  that  the  pro- 
posed formula  is  a  little  too  vague  to  serve  as  a  satis- 
factory basis  for  a  church. 

Hence  I  should  be  inclined  to  suggest  as  a  simpler 
and  more  intelligible  basis,  that  the  member  should 
only  be  asked  to  pledge  himself  to  do  his  best  to  know 
what  is  true,  to  appreciate  what  is  beautiful,  and  to 
promote  what  is  good.  Is  this  too  slight  a  foundation 
for  a  religious  organization?  It  does  not  appear  to  me 
that  it  would  be  so.  No  doubt  every  one  ought  to  be 
able  to  join  an  organization  on  such  a  basis.  There 
would  hardly  be  any  room  for  dissenters.  But  is  it  not 
just  such  a  church  that  we  desire  to  see?    On  the  other 

[295] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

hand,  it  must  be  remembered  that  any  one  who  did  join 
such  a  church  would  be  committing  himself  to  a  large 
undertaking.  He  would  be  definitely  recognizing  the 
obligation  to  keep  his  intellectual,  his  esthetic  and  his 
moral  activities  in  the  fullest  possible  exercise;  or,  in 
Goethe's  phrase, 

"Sich  vom  Halben  zu  entwohnen 
Und  im  Ganzen,  Guten,  Schonen 
Resolut  zu  leben." 

Of  course,  if  a  church  were  established  on  such  a 
simple  basis  as  this,  it  might  still  be  possible  for  its 
members  to  form  themselves  into  smaller  groups  who 
might  differ  in  their  views  with  regard  to  what  is  true, 
beautiful,  or  good;  and  who  might  think  it  desirable 
to  formulate  their  opinions  in  some  more  definite  and 
detailed  way.  But  the  Church  as  a  whole  would  only 
exclude  those  who  deliberately  closed  their  eyes  to  any 
one  of  these  three  ideal  standards.  And  I  believe  that 
the  differences  that  would  arise  within  such  a  church 
would  be  very  much  smaller  than  most  people  are  apt 
to  imagine.  The  differences  that  exist  among  men  at 
present  are  very  largely  due  to  the  profession  of  creeds 
which  are  probably  as  little  understood  in  general  by 
those  who  accept  them  as  by  those  who  reject  them. 
If  people  were  not  bound  by  such  creeds,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  they  would  soon  fmd  themselves  in  sub- 
stantial agreement  on  the  most  fundamental  problems. 
But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  try  to  make  any  detailed 
formulation  of  the  points  on  which  they  agreed.  Such 
a  formulation  might  serve  for  a  time ;  but  in  a  few  years 
it  would  probably  be  as  much  outworn  as  any  of  the 
creeds  with  which  we  are  at  present  afflicted. 

[296] 


John  S.  Mackenzie 


JAMES  GORE  KING  McCLURE,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

CHICAGO^   ILL. 

President  of  McCormick  Theological  Seminary,  Chicago, 
since  1905;  born  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  24,  1848;  edu- 
cated at  Yale  University  and  Princeton  Theological  Semi- 
nary; ordained  to  the  Presbyterian  ministry,  1874;  pastor 
at  New  Scotland,  N.  Y.,  1874-79;  traveled  in  Europe, 
1879-81;  pastor  at  Lake  Forest,  111.,  1881-1905;  president 
of  Lake  Forest  University,  1897-1901;  author  of  Possi- 
bilities; The  Man  Who  Wanted  to  Help;  The  Great  Ap- 
peal; Environment;  For  Hearts  that  Hope;  A  Mighty 
Means  of  Usefulness;  Living  for  the  Best;  The  Growing 
Pastor;  Loyalty,  the  Soul  of  Religion;  Supreme  Things, 

1.  The  conditions  of  reception  into  membership  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  are  sim- 
ply such  evidence  of  knowledge  and  piety  as  indicates 
repentance  of  sin,  purpose  to  live  according  to  the  will 
of  God  as  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  acceptance  of 
the  government  of  the  church. 

2.  Theology,  which  is  the  science  of  God,  can  be 
true,  final,  and  effective  only  as  it  is  in  agreement  with 
all  God's  revelations  of  himself  in  conscience,  nature, 
history.  Scripture  and  Jesus  Christ. 

Ordinarily  the  more  brief  a  formulated  credal  state- 
ment is  the  more  sure  it  is  to  have  lasting  significance 
and  to  prove  permanently  advantageous  to  the  welfare 
of  individual  souls  and  to  the  advancement  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  in  the  world. 


[297] 


THE   REV.    SAMUEL   McCOMB,   D.D., 

BOSTON^   MASS. 

Associate  director  of  the  Movement  for  Moral  Treatment 
of  Nervous  Disorders  at  Emanuel  (P.  E.)  Church,  Bos- 
ton, since  I9O6;  born  at  Londonderry,  Ireland,  Jan.  28, 
1864;  educated  at  Magee  College,  Londonderry,  Assem- 
bly's College,  Belfast,  and  at  the  universities  of  Oxford 
and  Berlin;  during  1896-99  held  pastorates  at  Reading, 
England,  Armagh  and  Belfast,  Ireland,  and  Riverside 
Church,  New  York;  professor  of  ecclesiastical  history. 
Queen's  University,  Canada,  1899-1904;  author  of  Re- 
ligion and  Medicine;  The  Making  of  the  English  Bible; 
Christianity  and  the  Modern  Mind, 

THE  CREED  AND  MODERN  THOUGHT 

No  one  who  has  eyes  to  see  can  doubt  the  existence  of 
a  grave  crisis  for  religion  and  the  institutes  of  religion. 
Criticism  has  shaken  the  foundations  of  traditional 
teaching  about  the  Bible.  Scientific  conceptions  of  the 
world  have  revolutionized  beliefs  supposed  to  be  essen- 
tial to  Christianity.  The  cosmogony  of  the  creeds  has 
vanished  before  the  newer  astronomy.  Redemption 
from  sin  seems  hard  to  reconcile  with  the  doctrine  of  evo- 
lution and  the  inviolability  of  self-acting  ethical  laws. 
Even  the  ideas  of  God  and  immortality  which  "natural 
religion"  was  supposed  to  certify  are  passing  through 
a  drastic  trial,  and  the  minds  of  men  are  profoundly  dis- 
turbed. 

In  such  a  critical  situation,  what  is  the  duty  of  the 
Church?  What  must  be  our  attitude  toward  a  creed, 
or  a  confession  of  faith?  We  can  find  no  relief  either 
in  the  short  and  easy  method  of  the  ultra-rationalist 
who  would  throw  overboard  all  the  classic  expressions  of 

[  298  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christian  belief  and  would  commit  us  to  the  anarchy 
of  individualism,  or  in  that  of  a  blind  literalism  which 
cannot  pierce  beneath  the  letter  and  the  symbol  to  the 
inner  spiritual  reality.  The  truth  is  that  the  problems 
involved  are  the  most  difficult  and  the  most  delicate 
that  the  Christian  intellect  can  be  called  upon  to  solve. 
For  the  Church  is  a  historical  body,  not  an  accidental 
conglomeration  of  individuals.  Nay,  more,  the  Church 
is  the  symbol  of  something  grander  than  itself,  the  unity 
of  humanity  in  God,  and  is  a  witness  to  truths  essential 
to  the  higher  life  of  the  world.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
creeds  reflect  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  problems 
which  agitated  the  age  which  gave  them  birth.  They 
are  not  supernatural  entities  to  be  accepted  in  the  spirit 
of  a  narrow  dogmatism,  nor  are  they  an  adequate  em- 
bodiment of  the  truths  they  would  proclaim.  They 
only  symbolize  truth,  the  truth  that  saves  and  unites 
humanity  into  a  holy  brotherhood. 

It  follows  that  long  and  intricate  confessions  of 
faith  defeat  the  very  purpose  for  which  they  are  com- 
piled. For  what  is  wanted  in  the  creed  is  not  a  de- 
tailed statement  of  exact  and  definite  thought — ^that  is 
the  work  of  the  speculative  thinker — ^but  a  hint  at  in- 
definable mysteries,  a  cry  out  of  the  common  heart  of 
believing  souls,  going  up  in  worship  and  service. 
Surely,  the  formula  known  as  the  Apostles'  Creed  meets 
these  requirements.  It  comes  to  us  from  a  period  not 
far  removed  from  the  apostolic  age.  It  is  laden  with 
the  devotion,  the  aspiration,  the  victorious  faith  of 
almost  eighteen  centuries.  All  the  scattered  members 
of  historical  Christendom  can  unite  in  uttering  it. 

But  it  may  be  argued,  simple  though  the  apostolic 
formula  is,  it  nevertheless  contains  statements  which 

[  299  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

taken  literally,  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  fundamental 
convictions  of  the  modem  world.  Must  we  not,  there- 
fore, seek  for  something  simpler  still?  I  answer,  the 
most  simple  formula  that  can  be  devised  to  serve  as  a 
symbol  of  the  Christian  religion  if  analyzed  in  a  dog- 
matic spirit,  must  give  rise  to  division  and  controversy. 
It  is  only  in  prayer  and  worship  that  unity  is  achieved, 
and  the  creed  is  to  be  felt  as  we  feel  the  glory  of  music, 
or  poetry.  It  is  not  to  be  dissected  as  we  would  a  prop- 
osition in  logic.  Hence  each  mind  will  attach  to  the 
creed  an  interpretation  born  of  its  own  special  spiritual 
experience  and  religious  training. 

When,  for  example,  we  recite  the  words  "He  de- 
scended into  hell,"  what  do  we  mean?  To  the  mind  still 
imprisoned  in  medievalism  these  words  mean  that  the 
crucified  One  made  a  literal  journey  to  a  region  in 
space.  For  the  educated  mind  of  to-day  such  a  thought 
is  unintelligible;  yet  interpreted  in  terms  of  spirit,  the 
phrase  suggests  a  truth  of  profound  significance.  Has 
not  Christ  faced  the  utmost  darkness  that  can  overtake 
the  human  spirit?  Has  he  not  irradiated  the  spiritual 
universe  with  the  glory  of  his  presence?  Has  he  not 
brought  redemption  and  reconciliation  to  humanity 
sunken  in  the  hell  of  sin  and  despair? 

When  we  pass  from  the  creed  to  the  theology  of  the 
Church,  we  pass  from  the  realm  of  worship  to  that  of 
thought.  It  is  obvious  that  the  theology  that  does  not 
conform  to  the  proved  conclusions  of  science  and  phi- 
losophy is  a  mere  playing  with  words.  A  permanent 
dualism  between  our  theological  and  our  scientific  con- 
sciousness is  unthinkable.  We  must  either  fall  back 
into  obscurantism,  or  fearlessly  follow  truth  whither- 
soever it  may  lead.    The  fundamental  dogma,  the  root 

[300] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

principle  of  our  thinking  to-day  is  that  truth  is  a  unity. 
It  is  this  faith  that  ever  allures  onward  the  human  mind. 
But  this  means  that  every  truth  of  science  is  also 
a  truth  of  religion,  that  every  generalization  in  re- 
gard to  the  physical  world,  such  as  the  principle  of 
evolution,  is  the  revelation  of  divine  activity,  that  every 
great  uplifting  force  in  the  normal  or  social  order  is  a 
sign  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  a  present  reality. 
Theology  is  the  interpretation  of  human  experience 
in  and  through  the  idea  of  God.  It  is  the  new  ex- 
periences of  men,  their  new  desires,  new  insights,  new 
aspirations, — in  a  word,  it  is  the  new  life  of  the  present 
enriched  by  the  heritage  of  the  past,  and  looking  toward 
new  horizons  that  await  adequate  theological  interpre- 
tation. The  formulas  and  traditions  of  the  past,  pre- 
sent quite  a  helpless  look,  when  set  face  to  face  with 
these  new  demands.  The  relief  which  dogmatism  offers 
is  discredited  among  all  who  carry  weight.  The  task 
of  the  theologian  of  the  future  must  be  to  challenge 
every  tradition,  discover  the  truth  which  it  contains, 
and  coordinate  the  truth  thus  discovered  with  the  cer- 
tainties of  the  ethical  and  philosophical  thinker  and  of 
the  dramatist  and  the  novelist  who  study  life  and  report 
what  they  find  there.  To  contribute,  even  in  the  small- 
est degree  to  the  unification  of  our  religious  and  scien- 
tific thinking,  is  an  honor  for  even  the  strongest  man. 
For  such  a  unification  would  give  a  great  upUft  to  the 
ethical  life;  would  put  the  iron  of  assurance  into  the 
preacher's  message;  would  inspire  with  a  lofty  enthu- 
siasm our  essential  endeavors,  and  would  go  far  to  re- 
deem our  inner  and  outer  life  from  confusion,  weakness 
and  vacillation. 

[SOI] 


ALLAN   MENZIES,   D.D., 

ST.     ANDREWS,     SCOTLAND 

Professor  of  divinity  and  biblical  criticism  at  St.  Mary's 
College,  St.  Andrews,  Scotland,  since  1889;  bom  at  Edin- 
burgh, Jan.  23,  1845;  educated  at  the  universities  of  St. 
Andrews  and  Edinburgh  and  Erlangen;  minister  of  the 
parish  of  Abernyte,  Perthshire,  1873-90;  president  of  the 
National  Church  Union,  1 897 ;  translated  F.  C.  von  Baur's 
Paulus,  der  Apostel  Jesu  Christi  (Paul,  the  Apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ),  and  Das  Christentum  und  die  christliche 
Kirche  der  drei  ersten  Jahrhunderte  {The  Church  History 
of  the  First  Three  Centuries) ;  J.  Wellhausen*s  Prolego- 
mena zur  Geschichte  Israels  {Prolegomena  to  the  History 
of  Israel)  in  collaboration  with  J.  S.  Black;  also  O.  Pflei- 
derer*s  Religionsphilosophie  auf  geschichtlicher  Grundlage 
{Philosophy  of  Religion)  in  collaboration  with  A.  Stewart; 
edited  the  supplementary  volume  of  the  Ante-Nicene 
Fathers,  and  the  Review  of  Theology  and  Philosophy 
since  1905;  author  of  National  Religion;  The  History  of 
Religion;  The  Earliest  Gospel;  Commentary  on  Second 
Corinthians. 

I  CANNOT  say  whether  there  are  many  of  my  country- 
men whose  attitude  toward  the  Church  is  similar  to  that 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  great  liberator.  In  Scotland 
the  laity  are  not  required  to  subscribe  to  any  creed, 
some  ministers  recite  the  Apostles'  Creed  as  part  of  the 
Communion  Service,  and  a  father  bringing  an  infant 
to  be  baptized  may  be  asked  as  to  his  belief;  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  a  minister  is  entitled  to  insist  on  be- 
lief in  the  creed  in  either  case.  In  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land and  the  United  Free  Church  ministers  sign  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  at  ordination  or  in- 
duction, but  these  churches  have  in  recent  times  passed 
Declaratory  Acts  to  relieve  the  consciences  of  those 
signing.    The  question  of  subscription  is  not  a  press- 

[302] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  one  in  Scotland  for  either  ministers  or  laity,  the 
churches  recognize  that  theological  progress  is  not  only 
their  privilege  but  their  duty.  There  is  in  consequence 
little  movement  away  from  the  churches  on  the  score 
of  belief;  and  no  sharp  distinction  between  ministers 
and  laity.  Both  are  advancing,  and  the  people  gen- 
erally belong  to  the  church,  both  in  country  districts 
and  in  towns. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  the  question 
which  this  symposium  is  to  discuss  is  a  real  one  in 
Scotland  as  elsewhere.  There  are  many  who  do  not 
go  to  church;  men  of  letters  and  artists,  and  men  of 
business,  who  have  high  authority  in  their  own  de- 
partments and  are  justly  esteemed  by  the  community. 
Among  the  working  class  many  are  influenced  by  the 
active  propaganda  of  secularism  and  socialism,  and  re- 
main outside  of  the  churches.  They  consider  the  Church 
to  teach  things  about  the  Bible  which  are  not  true,  to  be 
behind  the  age  in  her  attitude  toward  science,  and  to 
be  wanting  in  real  guidance  in  social  questions.  These 
criticisms  of  the  Church  are  felt  not  only  by  those  who 
are  led  by  them  to  stay  at  home  on  Sunday,  but  by  many 
who  go  to  church  and  by  the  ministers  themselves.  Re- 
ligion, it  is  felt  by  all,  is  not  affording  to  the  people 
the  guidance  and  stimulus  that  are  justly  to  be  ex- 
pected from  her;  the  old  beliefs  have  lost  their  author- 
ity, and  the  teaching  that  shall  have  authority  and 
shall  call  the  whole  people  to  the  pursuit  of  spiritual 
and  ideal  ends  is  slow  to  appear.  Hence  the  variety  in 
the  subjects  of  sermons  in  our  day.  The  churches  are 
waiting  for  the  word  which  God  will  put  in  their  mouths. 
They  have  prepared  themselves  to  receive  it.  They 
have  accepted  the  teaching  of  biblical  criticism,  and  are 

[303] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

full  of  the  interest  with  which  the  Bible  is  so  much 
alive  when  seen  and  understood  as  a  historical  record 
and  arranged  as  criticism  dictates.  They  are  taking 
to  the  study  of  sociology  both  in  theory  and  practise, 
and  are  bent  on  finding  out  what  is  just  and  right  in  the 
relations  to  each  other  of  the  dijfferent  classes  of  society. 
They  are  discovering  afresh  the  figure  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  convincing  themselves  in  the  new  ways  pointed  out 
by  scholarship  of  his  supremacy. 

Can  the  Church  then  dispense  altogether  with  a  creed 
and  declare  all  those  to  be  within  her  pale  who  accept 
the  requirements  of  our  Lord,  that  we  should  love  God 
first  and  wholly  and  our  neighbors  as  ourselves?  I 
would  add  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  many  regard  as 
the  first  and  most  adequate  statement  of  Christian  doc- 
trine. It  is  too  much  to  ask  of  the  Church  that  she 
should  ignore  the  whole  development  of  her  doctrine  in 
the  past  and  content  herself  for  her  creed  with  state- 
ments of  moral  duty;  but  if  she  takes  for  her  standard 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  requirements  of  love  to  God 
and  man,  leaving  the  rest  of  her  doctrine  to  be  nurtured 
by  scholarship  and  by  the  judgments  of  time,  she  will 
take  up  a  position  from  which  science  cannot  drive  her, 
and  which  will  secure  for  her  the  sympathy  of  the  world 
more  and  more. 

The  beliefs  which  these  words  of  our  Lord  imply 
are  the  root  doctrines  of  the  Bible  in  both  Testaments. 
They  imply  the  belief  in  the  sovereignty  of  God  and 
the  spiritual  nature  of  the  universe.  In  the  hundredth 
Psalm  the  appeal  is  made  to  all  men,  of  every  race,  to 
worship  God,  to  join  in  his  praise,  and  the  only  reason 
given  for  the  appeal  is  that  God  is  our  Maker  and  that 
we  are  his.    The  Church  is  specially  called  at  the  pres- 

[  304.  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ent  time  to  insist  on  this  doctrine  and  make  it  the  chief 
burden  of  her  message.  She  should  take  a  stronger 
stand  than  she  has  done  in  declaring  that  men  are  the 
children  of  a  spiritual  Being,  amidst  the  works  of  whom 
they  live,  whose  wisdom  and  care  are  manifest  on  every 
side,  and  who  has  made  them  partakers  of  his  own  na- 
ture. That  they  exist  not  for  themselves  but  for  him, 
that  he  has  an  indefeasible  claim  on  them,  older  than  that 
of  church  or  country  or  any  human  institution,  and  that 
he  has  put  his  law  in  their  hearts.  They  are  called  to 
worship  him  and  they  are  not  entitled  to  refuse  the  wor- 
ship he  asks  of  them. 

And  along  with  the  teaching  of  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  that  he  made  us  and  asks  our  worship  and  our 
love  there  should  go  the  preaching  of  Christ,  as  the  being 
in  whom  the  knowledge  of  God  which  we  all  have,  more 
or  less,  dwelt  most  fully  and  took  command  most  en- 
tirely of  all  life  and  action,  so  that  in  him  the  message 
of  God's  mercy  and  love  to  his  creatures  took  bodily 
shape. 


[305] 


EDUARD  MONTET,  D.D., 

SWITZERLAND 

Dean  of  the  faculty  of  theology  of  the  University  of 
Geneva  since  1897;  vice-rector  since  1908;  rector  since 
1910 ;  professor  of  Old  Testament  exegesis,  and  lecturer 
on  the  Semitic  languages;  born  at  Lyons,  June  12,  1856; 
secondary  studies  at  the  Lycee  de  Lyon,  collegiate  studies 
in  the  Universities  of  Geneva,  Berlin,  Heidelberg,  and 
Paris ;  appointed  professor  to  the  faculty  of  theology  of  the 
University  of  Geneva,  1885;  author  of  The  History  of 
Christianity,  and  other  works  on  Semitic  languages,  on 
Islam,  and  on  the  Old  Testament. 

The  number  of  religious  men  who  refuse  to  join  an 
ecclesiastical  organization,  no  matter  what  it  be,  will 
continue  to  increase,  the  farther  we  advance  along  the 
course  of  the  twentieth  century.  This  is  due  to  two  im- 
portant causes:  1.  Protestant  individualism:  Protes- 
tantism is  by  its  principles  individualistic.  It  is  based 
on  liberty  of  thought;  thus  liberty  of  thought  attracts 
the  adherence  of  the  individual.  Formerly,  it  was  said 
that  every  Protestant  was  a  pope,  with  Bible  in  hand. 
It  has  been  said,  still  more  truly,  that  Protestantism 
was  neither  doctrine  nor  church,  but  that  it  was  a 
method — the  method  of  liberty  of  thought.  2.  The 
Protestant  churches  have  all,  without  exception,  failed 
to  carry  out  the  fundamental  principle  of  Protestant- 
ism— free  thought  and  absolute  liberty ;  where  the  spirit 
of  the  Saviour  is  there  is  liberty!  The  most  liberal 
among  them  have  maintained  a  dogmatic  basis,  so  weak 
are  they. 

The  Reformed  Churches  of  France,  churches  with 
liberal  tendencies  and  a  liberal  spirit,  aflSrm  in  their 

[  306  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Declaration  of  Principles  of  Paris  (Oratory),  of  June, 
1907,  "their  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,  who  by  his  holy  life,  his  precepts,  his  death  on  the 
cross,  his  resurrection,  saves  all  who  through  him  unite 
themselves  to  God." 

The  National  Protestant  Church  of  Geneva,  the 
largest  church  in  our  knowledge,  declares  in  the  pre- 
amble to  its  constitution  of  1908,  that  it  "recognizes  for 
its  only  leader  Jesus  Christ,  Saviour  of  man."  This 
latter  declaration  is  very  broad,  but  it  is  a  dogmatic 
declaration. 

Single  isolated  communities  have  been  established 
with  no  dogmatic  foundation  whatever;  such,  for  in- 
stance, is  the  Liberal  Protestant  Church  of  Brussels, 
which  is  an  organization,  an  assembly,  organized  of  com- 
munities. 

A  declaration  like  that  of  Lincoln  is  insufBcient  as 
a  basis  for  ecclesiastical  organization.  On  the  other 
hand,  liberal  religious  associations  that  have  affirmed 
broad  principles  (for  example,  monotheism)  never  at- 
tain to  the  establishing  of  a  church  (International 
Unitarian  Congress ;  Congress  of  Religions  of  Chicago, 
etc.).  There  is,  therefore,  reason  for  believing  that 
there  will  always  be  two  parties  in  Christianity  in  the 
true  religious  sense  of  the  word:  a  majority  that  has 
need  of  a  church  because  it  needs  direction;  a  minority 
among  whom  there  will  be  choice  thinkers  and  remark- 
able Christians  outside  of  all  churches,  no  matter  pf 
what  sect. 

Theology,  within  and  without  the  Church,  must  be 
molded  without  being  in  opposition  to  the  scientific 
ideas  of  the  period ;  but  there  should  be  no  question  of 
being  in  harmony  with  these  ideas.    Complete  harmony 

[307] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

between  theology  and  the  sciences,  along  general  lines, 
is  impossible,  because  the  domains  of  these  two  disci- 
plines (theology  and  science)  are  absolutely  different 
and  strangers  the  one  to  the  other.  Complete  harmoni- 
zation of  one  with  the  other  of  these  disciplines  sup- 
poses reciprocal  encroachments  and  therefore  con- 
tradiction. 


[808] 


WILLIAM  MATTHEW  FLINDERS  PETRIE, 
D.C.L.,  Litt.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.B.A., 

LONDON^  ENGLAND 

Edwards  professor  of  Egyptology,  University  College, 
London,  since  1892;  born  at  Charlton,  England,  June  3, 
1853;  educated  privately;  excavator  in  Egypt,  1880-1911 
(the  principal  discoveries  of  which  were  the  Greek  set- 
tlements at  Naukratis  and  Daphnae;  prehistoric  Egyptian 
at  Koptos  and  at  Naqada;  inscription  of  Israelite  war  at 
Thebes;  kings  of  the  earliest  dynasties  at  Abydos;  Hyk- 
sos  camp ;  city  on  Onias  and  palaces  of  Memphis) ; 
founded  Egyptian  Research  Account,  1894,  enlarged  as 
the  British  School  of  Archaeology  in  Egypt,  1905;  author 
of  Inductive  Metrology;  Stonehenge;  Pyramids  and  Tem- 
ples of  Gizeh;  Tanis  I  and  II;  Naukratis  I;  Season  in 
Egypt;  Racial  Portraits;  Historical  Scarabs;  Harvara; 
Kahun;  Illahun;  Medum;  Ten  Years  Digging;  History  of 
Egypt;  Tell  el  Amarna;  Koptos;  Naqada;  Egyptian 
Tales;  Decorative  Arts;  Six  Temples  at  Thebes;  Desha- 
sheh;  Religion  and  Conscience  in  Ancient  Egypt;  Syria 
and  Egypt;  Dendereh;  Diospolis;  Royal  Tombs  of  the 
First  Dynasty;  Royal  Tombs  of  the  Earliest  Dynasties; 
Abydos  I  and  II;  Ehnasya;  Methods  and  Aims  in 
ArchoBology ;  The  Egyptians  in  Sinai;  Researches  in  Sinai; 
Hyksos  and  Israelite  Cities;  Religion  of  Ancient  Egypt; 
Gizeh  and  Rifeh;  Athribis;  Personal  Religion  in  Egypt; 
Memphis;  Qumeh;  The  Palace  of  Apries;  Arts  and  Crafts 
in  Egypt;  The  Growth  of  the  Gospels;  Meydum  and 
Memphis;  Historical  Studies;  Egypt  and  Israel;  RevO' 
lutions  of  Civilization, 

The  question  put  is  one  which  no  one  can  really  answer 
any  more  than  he  can  describe  growth  or  decay  in  his 
body. 

To  reach  any  permanent  values  in  our  conception  of 
things  we  must  carefully  discount  the  tendencies  of  our 
own  time.  When  we  look  at  any  of  the  separate  worlds 
of  thought  around  us,  we  can  see  how  entirely  they  can 

[309] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

absorb  a  mind  and  close  it  to  all  other  interests.  The 
world  of  chemistry,  or  mathematics,  or  physics,  or  bi- 
ology, or  astronomy,  or  ethics,  or  history,  or  philan- 
thropy, or  music,  or  art,  might  easily  dominate  all  one's 
thoughts  and  horizon  of  being.  And  one  may  see  other 
worlds  equally  dominating  those  around  us,  such  as 
novel  reading,  or  politics,  or  society,  art,  music,  sport, 
theatricals,  vice,  or  crime. 

This  dominance  of  a  single  circle  of  interest,  which 
we  can  thus  watch  at  first-hand  around  us,  enables  us 
to  realize  the  dominance  in  different  ages  of  single  ideas 
round  which  all  else  was  grouped.  In  each  century 
we  see  how  to  most  men  one  great  issue  ruled  their 
thoughts.  Reform,  which  was  to  be  a  cure-all,  revolu- 
tionary fraternity,  free  will  and  predestination,  liberty 
of  prophesying,  the  mass,  the  power  of  the  keys,  cru- 
sading, the  moral  rule  of  the  Church,  the  conversion  of 
Europe,  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  mother 
of  God,  the  Trinity,  Lapsarianism,  Marcionism — each 
of  these  dominant  ideas  ruled  the  whole  conception  of 
its  own  age. 

The  present  obsession  is  the  dominance  of  natural 
law,  and  the  immense  extension  of  man's  physical 
powers  and  knowledge.  This  colors  our  ideas  of  every- 
thing just  as  much  as  other  ideas  have  colored  other 
ages.  Though  our  circumstances  of  thought  might 
have  been  fairly  clear  to  us  in  a  dim  manner  if  nothing 
else  had  interfered,  yet  they  have  all  been  blotted  out 
by  a  blinding  search-light  from  one  direction  only,  which 
had  obscured  our  perception  of  everything  else. 

One  aid  to  us  is  to  look  through  other  eyes.  Books 
like  Doughty's  Arabia  Deserta,  Laotze,  Epictetus,  or 
even  Plutarch  enable  us  to  live  for  a  time  amid  truer 

[310] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

values  of  humanity,  to  shake  off  the  insistence  of  mat- 
ter, to  regain  a  little  of  that  truth  of  orientalism  that 
mind  is  the  essential  and  matter  the  accidental.  It  is 
one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  the  present,  how  to  use 
the  facilities  of  life  crowding  upon  us  without  being 
subdued  by  them.  It  is  easy  to  fall  into  a  mechanical 
rush  without  keeping  the  proportions  or  the  ends  in 
view. 

Further,  as  every  message  to  the  past  was  con- 
ditioned by  the  capacities  of  those  who  wrote  and  who 
received  it,  so  we  cannot  expect  that  such  past  messages 
can  fit  the  needs  of  the  present  expression  in  all  their 
form,  but  rather  in  their  principles.  The  distinction  of 
the  principles  from  the  form  was  the  expressed  mission 
of  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  He  came  to  show  how  the  law 
was  to  be  fulfilled  by  observing  its  principles,  while  its 
forms  had  become  obsolete,  or  overlaid  by  tradition. 
Such  was  his  own  personal  claim. 

For  any  fundamental  theology  which  is  asked  for, 
we  must  go  back  to  the  essential  principles,  regardless 
of  transient  forms  or  beliefs.  No  lesson  is  plainer  in 
history  than  the  permanence  of  the  nature  of  man,  re- 
gardless of  his  acquirements  of  knowledge.  The  noble 
passage  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  which  has  been  quoted 
in  your  letter,  shows  his  sense  of  the  requirements  of 
essentials,  irrespective  of  all  transient  forms. 

When  we  look  at  what  seems  to  many  to  be  the  ter- 
rible cleft  stick  of  circumstances — that  any  religious 
body  must  have  some  fixed  formula,  and  yet  that  all 
perception  of  truth  must  be  in  a  state  of  flux  accord- 
ing with  the  power  of  man's  perceptions — each  can  only 
say  "to  his  own  Master  he  standeth  or  falleth,"  let  no 
man  judge  another. 

[311] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  greatest  work  for  teachers  of  the  present  time, 
and  in  all  times,  is  to  disentangle  the  essential  principles 
from  their  past  expression,  and  reset  them  afresh  in 
their  present  terms,  which  will  yet  again  become  anti- 
quated in  the  future.  The  more  the  expression  of  es- 
sentials can  keep  clear  of  the  accidentals  of  the  time, 
the  truer  it  will  be;  that  is  the  secret  of  the  lasting 
power  of  great  thought  from  Job  and  Asoka  to  Herbert 
and  Shakespeare.  All  topical  style,  bringing  the  feel- 
ings and  interests  of  the  day  into  religious  expression, 
is  like  a  fashionable  figure  in  a  picture — it  forms  its  most 
rapid  condemnation  as  being  out  of  date.  There  is 
sometimes  a  pious  sneer  at  the  Decalogue,  as  if  we  had 
outgrown  it;  but  I  should  much  like  to  know  the  man 
who  never  broke  even  the  tenth  conmiandment. 


[312] 


JAMES    BISSETT    PRATT,    Ph.D., 

WILLIAMSTOWN,   MASS. 

Professor  of  philosophy  at  Williams  College,  Williams- 
town,  Mass.,  since  1906;  born  at  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  June  22, 
1875;  studied  at  Williams  College,  Harvard  University, 
Columbia  Law  School,  and  the  University  of  Berlin; 
taught  Latin  in  Berkeley  School,  New  York,  1900;  head 
of  Latin  department,  Elmira  Free  Academy,  1900-2;  in- 
structor of  philosophy  at  Williams  College,  1905-06;  au- 
thor of  Psychology  of  Religious  Belief;  What  is  Prag- 
matism? 

The  question  of  a  creed  for  our  time  is  an  exceedingly 
important  one.  The  official  creeds  which  most  of  our 
Christian  churches  formally  profess  are  not  creeds  for 
our  time.  This  in  itself  would  indeed  be  no  evil,  for 
the  ancient  is  often  reverend  and  helpful.  But  the  evil 
in  retaining  these  creeds  of  other  centuries  as  the  exact 
and  deliberate  statement  of  our  present  beliefs,  and  as 
the  thing  by  which  we  wish  our  Christianity  to  be  de- 
fined is  obvious  enough.  Such  a  policy  lends  a  weapon 
to  every  foe  of  Christianity.  It  deliberately  chooses 
the  most  indefensible  positions  for  its  battle-field.  It 
announces  to  the  world  that  it  will  stand  or  fall  by  that 
which  in  the  eyes  of  the  world's  science  and  criticism  is 
already  fallen. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  break  altogether  with  our 
past  would  be  an  equally  great  mistake.  Our  present 
and  future  must  grow  out  of  our  past  and  be  in  vital 
connection  with  it.  Hence  as  many  of  our  old  forms 
should  be  retained  as  are  still  foimd  at  all  helpful — ^nor 
in  our  attempt  to  be  liberal  and  modern  should  we  break 
down  everything  that  distinguishes  the  Christian  from 

[313] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  moral  man  who  finds  no  help  and  no  attraction  in 
Christianity.  There  should  be  some  difference — a  good 
deal  of  difference — between  a  church  and  a  society  for 
ethical  culture.  Otherwise  we  surrender  at  once  an 
enormous  amount  of  potential  energy  which  loyalty  to 
Christianity  has  always  evolved,  and  which  has  been  by 
no  means  lost  to-day.  Hence  I  should  not  welcome  the 
words  of  Lincoln,  which  you  quote,  as  suggesting  a 
sufficient  demand  for  church  membership.  And  this  I 
say  as  a  purely  practical,  or  psychological,  matter.  I 
believe  that  if  our  churches  should  give  up  every  refer- 
ence to  Jesus  in  their  membership  formula,  with  all  the 
break-down  of  distinctions  which  that  would  imply  be- 
tween Christianity  and  non-Christian  morality,  they 
would  lose  enormously  in  efficiency  and  motive  power. 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  there  is  danger  in  identify- 
ing religion  too  completely  with  social  service.  Cer- 
tainly it  should  include  social  service,  but  it  means 
more  than  that. 

Therefore  I  shoidd  be  in  favor  of  some  such  ques- 
tions as  the  following,  as  the  form  of  entrance  into  the 
Church : 

Do  you  love  the  Lord  your  God,  and  do  you  desire 
to  love  him  more  and  serve  him  better? 

Do  you  promise  to  be  a  loyal  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  service  of  your  fellow-men? 


isuj 


WALTER  RAUSCHENBUSCH,  D.D., 

ROCHESTER^   N.   Y. 

Professor  of  church  history  at  Rochester  Theological  Semi- 
nary since  1902;  born  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  4,  1861; 
was  educated  at  the  classical  gymnasium,  Giitersloh, 
Germany,  the  University  of  Rochester,  and  the  Roches- 
ter Theological  Seminary;  ordained  to  the  Baptist  min- 
istry, 1886;  author  of  Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis; 
For  God  and  the  People;  Christianizing  the  Social  Order. 

I  DOUBT  if  the  modern  indifference  to  the  churches  is 
mainly  due  to  conscientious  doubt  about  the  creeds  of 
the  churches,  and  if  church  membership  would  be  in- 
creased by  an  abolition  of  creeds  or  a  simplification. 

Personally  I  should  be  well  content  with  making  the 
Saviour's  statement  the  basis  of  membership.  The 
Church  has  taken  religion  away  from  the  babes  and 
given  it  to  the  rabbis  by  intellectualizing  the  gospel. 
This  would  reverse  the  process.  It  would  shift  the  obli- 
gation from  the  domain  of  intellect  to  that  of  the  will 
and  the  power  of  loving. 

As  to  an  "unassailable  and  final"  theology, — I  think 
we  shall  never  have  it.  But  you  are  wholly  right  that 
our  theology  must  not  be  in  plain  and  shocking  con- 
tradiction to  the  facts  about  the  universe  and  about 
human  life  which  are  the  common  property  of  our  age. 
Theology  should  give  an  adequate  intellectual  support 
to  the  living  religious  convictions  of  modern  men.  It 
is  defective  if  it  teaches  things  which  the  best  minds 
find  it  hardest  to  believe.  It  is  also  defective  if  it  fails 
to  teach  things  which  arouse  the  deepest  religious  feel- 
ing and  stir  the  best  minds  to  religious  action, 

[315] 


ARCHIBALD  THOMAS  ROBERTSON, 
D.D.,  LL.D., 

LOUISVILLE^   KY. 

Professor  of  interpretation  of  the  New  Testament  in  the 
Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary  since  1895;  born 
near  Chatham,  Va.,  Nov.  6,  1863;  graduated  from  Wake 
Forest  College,  N.  C,  1885,  and  Southern  Baptist  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Louisville,  1888;  assistant  instructor  of 
New  Testament  interpretation,  1888;  professor  biblical  in- 
troduction, 1892-95;  author  of  Life  and  Letters  of  John 
A.  Broadusj  Syllabus  for  New  Testament  Greek  Syntax; 
Syllabus  for  New  Testament  Study;  Teaching  of  Jesus 
Concerning  God  the  Father;  The  Students'  Chronological 
New  Testament;  Keywords  to  the  Teaching  of  Jesus; 
Epochs  in  the  Life  of  Paul;  Commentary  on  Matthew  in 
Bible  for  Home  and  School;  John  the  Loyal,  or  Studies 
in  the  Ministry  of  the  Baptist;  The  Glory  of  the  Ministry; 
A  Short  Grammar  of  the  Greek  New  Testament;  Epochs 
in  the  Life  of  Jesus;  A  Grammar  of  the  Greek  New  Testor 
ment  in  the  Light  of  historical  Research. 

THE    DEMAND    FOR   A   COMMON    CREED 

I  AM  asked  to  answer  these  questions:  1.  Why  so  many 
people  do  not  go  to  church?  2.  Do  the  complicated 
creeds  debar  men  from  Christianity?  3.  Where  shall 
we  look  for  a  fundamental  theology? 

These  questions  are  more  or  less  interwoven,  and  a 
simple  answer  is  not  possible  to  any  of  them.  I  may  say 
at  once  that  I  do  not  believe  that  a  final  theology  is  any 
more  possible  than  fijial  science  or  final  medicine  or 
final  law.  It  is  in  the  very  nature  of  the  human  mind 
to  push  on  to  further  fields  of  inquiry.  To  stand  still 
is  to  shrivel  and  decay.  It  is  a  fad  of  every  age  to 
imagine  that  it  has  at  last  reached  the  limit  of  human 
knowledge.    Every  system  of  philosophy  overturns  the 

[316] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

other,  and  yet  progress  is  made.  It  is  no  more  possible 
to-day  to  have  a  final  theology  than  it  was  when  Jesus 
told  the  disciples  that  he  could  not  then  tell  them  more. 
The  Holy  Spirit  would  come  and  lead  them  into  all 
truth.  He  is  still  leading  us  into  truth,  and  the  truth  is 
setting  us  free  to  combat  new  error  and  shake  off  old 
shackles. 

So  I  may  answer  the  questions  in  inverse  order  by 
saying  that  I  do  not  know  in  what  direction  we  may  look 
for  the  final  solution  of  all  our  problems  save  in  the 
direction  of  God.  God  is  ever  at  work  in  his  universe. 
He  has  expressed  his  will  in  the  worlds  about  us,  in  man 
in  particular,  in  his  Son  as  the  expression  of  himself, 
and  in  his  Word  as  the  record  of  that  expression.  God 
is  at  work  in  human  life  and  human  history.  The  life 
of  God  in  the  heart  and  character  is  the  main  thing,  far 
more  important  than  theology.  That  is  mediated  to  us 
by  God's  Son  through  his  Spirit.  That  life  of  trust  is 
far  above  theology,  as  the  flowers  bloom  without  con- 
sulting the  books  on  botany.  It  is  in  experience  there- 
fore that  we  must  start.  The  soul  of  man  has  direct 
dealings  with  God.    That  is  real  religion. 

But,  granted  this  God-given  life,  it  must  be  nour- 
ished. It  is  not  all  of  the  will  nor  of  the  emotions.  The 
intellect  must  prompt  the  will  and  stir  the  emotions. 
The  intellect  must  be  fed.  It  is  impossible  not  to  build 
a  theology  if  one  has  experience  of  God  and  a  mind 
that  thinks.  These  minds  will  not  interpret  God  and 
the  experience  in  the  same  manner.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment itself  we  see  the  Pauline,  Johannine,  Petrine, 
Jacobean  types.  This  variety  is  inevitable  and  is  harm- 
less. Jesus  did  not  condemn  this  in  his  prayer  for  unity^ 
The  occasion  for  that  prayer  was  the  rivalry  among  the 

[317] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

disciples  for  ecclesiastical  preferment,  not  types  of  mind 
and  character.  I  doubt  if  denominationalism  is  the  rea- 
son for  the  indifference  of  people  toward  Christ.  Cer- 
tainly uniformity,  enforced  uniformity,  has  had  a  far 
more  danming  effect  on  men  than  all  the  curious  and 
even  sad  divisions  in  Christian  doctrine.  It  is  vain  to 
force  men  into  organic  union  who  do  not  really  agree. 
They  will  fly  apart  by  centrifugal  force.  It  would  be 
well  from  many  points  of  view  if  all  the  forces  of  Prot- 
estantism could  present  a  solid  front  to  the  world  and  to 
Romanism.  Certainly  progress  has  been  made,  and 
there  is  less  tendency  now  to  have  so  many  churches  in 
small  conmiunities.  But  the  basic  principle  of  Protes- 
tantism is  freedom  of  the  individual  as  opposed  to 
Romish  oppression.  The  individual  must  be  allowed  to 
speak  as  he  sees  and  learns.  This  leads  to  diversity 
and  to  a  certain  amount  of  weakness  and  occasion  for 
criticism,  but  it  remains  to  be  said  that  it  is  just  where 
the  Protestant  principle  has  flourished  best  that  we  find 
the  flower  of  human  progress  in  religion  and  all  that 
makes  for  the  welfare  of  man.  The  tide  ebbs  and  flows 
with  the  years.  The  eighteenth  century  was  the  age  of 
deism  and  religion  seemed  dead,  but  John  Wesley  and 
George  Whitefield  blazed  a  path  for  evangelism.  The 
nineteenth  century  was  the  age  of  materialism,  but  the 
missionary  enterprise  swept  over  the  earth.  The 
twentieth  century  comes  in  as  the  age  of  criticism,  but 
already  the  heart  of  man  is  feeling  after  God  if  haply 
it  may  find  him,  and  it  is  finding  that  he  is  near  and 
loving.  Religious  experience  is  finding  a  standing  even 
in  philosophy. 

Why  do  not  more  men  go  to  church?     That  has 
always  been  a  problem.    At  bottom  it  is  because  of  sin. 

[318] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Men  who  love  sin  do  not  enjoy  being  made  uncom- 
fortable by  a  powerful  preacher.  They  do  not  like 
being  bored  by  a  poor  one.  For  both  reasons  they  stay 
away.  Sin  gets  a  tight  hold  on  them.  They  offer  many 
excuses,  but  that  is  the  real  reason  with  most  men  who 
are  indifferent  to  Christianity.  Ask  your  doctor  what 
proportion  of  men  are  free  from  sexual  immorality,  to 
go  no  farther,  and  you  will  have  a  deal  of  light  thrown 
on  the  vacant  pews  in  the  churches.  Some  men  are 
bothered  about  critical  views  of  the  Bible,  especially 
college  students.  There  is  in  some  institutions  a  fine 
scorn  of  Christianity  as  a  played-out  religion.  But  this 
temper  has  always  been  found  in  universities.  It  be- 
longs in  part  to  the  period  of  youth,  as  it  grapples  with 
the  great  problems  of  life. 

Each  age  has  to  solve  its  own  problems  in  its  own 
way.  There  is  no  other  way.  This  is  the  way  of  life 
and  it  is  the  best  way.  There  is  nothing  in  the  present 
situation  to  cause  essential  disheartening.  Nietzsche 
has  had  his  vogue  in  Europe,  but  it  is  passing.  It  is 
a  great  thing  to  be  able  to  stand  still  and  see  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Lord,  to  stand  and  not  give  way  to  rout,  to 
stand  and  to  rally  for  victory.  There  is  nothing  so 
essential  as  to  go  right  on  with  the  fight,  go  on  with 
new  weapons  adapted  to  new  foes,  but  to  go  on  in  the 
same  warfare  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  Christ  has 
the  same  universal  appeal  if  he  is  put  before  men  to-day 
with  intelligence  and  force. 


iswi 


ROBERT  McWATTY  RUSSELL,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

NEW   WILMINGTON^   PA. 

President  of  Westminster  College,  New  Wilmington,  Pa., 
since  1906;  born  at  Balm,  Mercer  Co.,  Pa.,  April  6, 
1858;  studied  at  Westminster  College  and  at  Allegheny- 
Theological  Seminary;  teacher  at  McKeesport  and  Day- 
ton academies,  1881-83;  pastor  at  Caledonia,  N.  Y.,  and 
Sixth  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  1890-1906;  author  of 
Truths  for  the  Inner  Life  (in  The  Midland). 

CONDITIONS    OF    CHURCH   MEMBERSHIP 

The  sentiment  of  Abraham  Lincoln  concerning  what 
should  constitute  the  conditions  of  church  membership 
has  been  held  by  thousands  of  thoughtful  men,  some- 
times with  so  full  a  consciousness  as  to  result  in  protest 
against  church  requirement  for  credal  confession,  and 
sometimes  only  as  latent  conviction  resulting  in  timidity 
concerning  the  whole  question  of  confessing  Christ 
through  membership  in  his  church. 

It  is  absolutely  certain  that  if  the  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  every  congregation  were  made  a  real 
invitation  to  all  who  believe  on  Jesus  Christ  to  express 
faith  in  him  and  loyalty  to  his  cause,  many  who  are  now 
absent  from  the  communion  table  would  feel  impelled 
to  be  present.  If  when  the  Lord's  Supper  is  observed, 
its  full  meaning  were  set  forth  as  a  confessional  ordi- 
nance, making  its  observance  the  public  expression  of 
the  great  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  has  been  here  and  that 
he  will  come  again,  and  that  service  for  him  on  earth 
demands  the  imion  of  believers  in  expression  of  their 
faith  and  efforts  for  service,  thousands  who  now  feel 

[320] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

they  are  debarred  from  church  membership  because  lack- 
ing in  sympathy  with  the  credal  statements  of  the  va- 
rious denominations,  would  gladly  participate  in  the 
ordinance  of  the  last  supper,  and  in  humility  and  loyalty 
to  Jesus  take  the  bread  and  the  wine  in  his  name. 

Unfortunately  church  membership  has  come  to  mean 
more  than  simple  allegiance  to  Christ.  It  is  viewed  by 
many  as  the  acceptance  of  a  creed  rather  than  "the  con- 
fession of  Christ."  Scores  of  serious-minded  men  have 
been  hindered  from  becoming  members  of  the  Church, 
with  which  they  are  naturally  environed  by  birth  and 
family  circumstance,  because  they  entertain  mental  pro- 
test against  certain  statements  of  the  ancestral  creed 
and  feel  that  public  confession  of  Christ  is  inconsistent 
with  the  entertainment  of  such  mental  attitude.  Let  it 
be  made  plain  that  the  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
means  the  confession  of  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord, 
and  many  a  man  who  has  been  kept  away  from  the 
Lord's  table  at  thought  of  his  own  unworthiness  will 
rejoice  to  come  because  through  coming  he  can  confess 
his  faith  in  the  worthiness  of  Christ.  Let  it  be  made 
plain  that  the  communion  table  is  "the  table  of  the 
Lord"  and  not  the  table  of  any  organization,  and  those 
who  have  yielded  to  the  invitation  of  Christ  when  he 
says,  "Come  unto  me"  will  also  feel  constrained  to  obey 
his  command  concerning  the  celebration  of  the  last  sup- 
per, "This  do  in  remembrance  of  me." 

The  pernicious  results  of  placing  an  over-emphasis 
upon  credal  statements  as  a  term  of  church  membership 
are  numerous: 

1.  The  Church  rather  than  Christ  becomes  the  cen- 
tral object  of  thought.  Thousands  join  the  Church, 
who  have  never  joined  Christ  and  live  in  moral  content- 

[S21] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

1 

ment  because  accepting  the  creed  of  their  Fathers,  while 
life  in  its  finer  moral  and  spiritual  aspects  is  remote  from 
the  standard  of  Christ.  There  is,  therefore,  the  tendency 
to  put  the  Church  where  Christ  ought  to  be  in  human 
thought.  This  will  account  for  all  the  cruelties  and 
persecutions  that  have  taken  place  in  the  name  of  the 
Church.  Mere  loyalty  to  creed  may  leave  men  hard, 
cruel,  and  uncompromising  toward  all  who  cherish 
opinions  differing  from  their  own.  Loyalty  to  Christ 
secures  for  men  the  strong  yet  tender  spirit  of  the 
Master. 

2.  The  placing  of  emphasis  upon  creed  as  a  term  of 
church  membership  tends  to  perpetuate  sectarianism. 
When  the  Church  is  viewed  as  the  kingdom  of  God, 
people  of  narrow  vision  naturally  say,  "Our  church," 
and  believe  that  the  kingdom  of  God  can  come  only  as 
their  own  particular  denomination  attains  ascendency 
and  power. 

3.  Young  people  are  subjected  to  an  unreasonable 
test  at  the  time  of  assuming  church  membership  by  ask- 
ing them  to  avow  belief  in  credal  statements,  the  scope 
of  which  they  are  not  able  to  measure,  and  the  meaning 
of  which  is  necessarily  obscure  and  open  to  controversy 
between  loyal  followers  of  the  Master.  There  was  cer- 
tainly a  grim  humor  in  the  action  of  many  sessions  of 
former  days  who  held  back  devout  children  from  con- 
fession of  Christ  in  the  Lord's  Supper  because  certain 
questions  of  "The  Larger  Catechism"  were  not  yet 
mastered.  The  creed  of  the  thinking  man  is  ever  chang- 
ing. Centered  in  Christ  there  will  always  be  enlarging 
views  concerning  him.  The  great  historic  creeds  have 
generally  been  produced  by  the  majority  votes  of  those 
in  council.    Creed-making  is  a  sort  of  theological  land- 

[322] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

scape-gardening  in  which  a  large  liberty  is  allowed,  so 
long  as  everything  is  on  God's  ground  of  revealed  truth. 
The  terms  of  church  membership  should  be  simple, 
and  with  young  people  might  be  summed  up  in  the  fol- 
lowing questions : 

1.  Have  you  lived  long  enough  and  thought  care- 
fully enough  to  realize  that  you  are  in  a  world  where 
there  is  sin  in  you  and  around  you  and  death  before 
you? 

2.  Do  you  realize  that  living  in  a  world  where  there 
is  sin  in  you  and  around  you  and  death  before  you,  you 
need  a  Saviour  of  some  kind? 

3.  Do  you  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  kind  of 
a  Saviour  set  forth  in  the  Bible  as  Son  of  God  and  Son 
of  man,  and  able  to  deal  with  your  record  of  sin  through 
forgiving  love,  and  to  give  eternal  life  through  his  sav- 
ing power? 

4.  Do  you  realize  that  he  offers  himself  and  all  the 
benefits  of  his  life  and  death  and  resurrection  glory  to 
you  as  the  free  gift  of  divine  love,  and  do  you  accept 
him  on  his  own  terms  as  your  Saviour  and  Lord? 

5.  Do  you  desire  to  confess  him  as  your  Saviour  in 
his  own  appointed  way  through  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  to  unite  with  his  confessed  follow- 
ers in  a  life  of  testimony  and  holy  service  for  him,  that 
his  kingdom  may  come  and  his  will  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven? 

The  person  who  can  give  intelligent  assent  to  the 
foregoing  questions  is  prepared  for  membership  in  the 
Church. 

The  supreme  need  of  the  hour  is  a  return  to  "the 
simplicity  that  is  in  Christ."  Apostolic  terms  of  con- 
fessing Christ  are  sufficient  for  the  modern  Church, 

[323] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Anything  more  will  perpetuate  sectarianism  and  inter- 
fere with  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  confessional  ordinance.  In 
it  men  "proclaim  the  Lord's  death  until  he  comes." 
The  observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  by  believers  con- 
stitutes a  dotted  line  of  history  through  the  ages  back 
past  the  open  tomb  of  Christ  to  the  upper  room  where 
he  instituted  the  feast  memorial  and  prophetic.  The 
prophetic  character  of  the  memorial  requires  a  present 
emphasis.  Of  its  meaning  we  read  "Ye  proclaim  the 
Lord's  death  until  he  come."  So  long  as  men  intelli- 
gently commemorate  the  last  supper,  the  world  has  a 
vital  witness  to  the  great  truths  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
here  and  that  he  is  coming  again.  In  proportion  as  the 
sacrament  of  the  supper  becomes  a  ceremonial  rather 
than  a  witnessing  or  confessional  ordinance,  the  world 
will  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  we  have  a  coming  Lord, 
and  believers  while  striving  to  live  "soberly,  righteously, 
and  godly  in  this  present  world"  will  miss  the  inspira- 
tion which  comes  from  "looking  for  the  blessed  hope 
and  the  appearing  of  the  glory  of  the  great  God  and 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

The  placing  of  emphasis  upon  union  with  Christ 
rather  than  espousal  of  a  creed  as  the  term  of  church 
membership  is  the  supreme  need  of  the  hour.  It  will 
introduce  a  new  spirit  of  vitality  into  the  work  of  the 
Church.  It  will  give  new  inspiration  for  home  evangel- 
ism and  a  new  spirit  of  activity  in  foreign  mission  work. 
Too  often  foreign  mission  work  has  been  regarded  as 
taking  our  Christianity  to  heathen  lands  rather  than 
oflPering  to  introduce  the  nations  to  our  Christ.  Too 
often  mission  work  has  seemed  the  effort  to  substitute 
Christianity  for  Buddhism  or  Confucianism  instead  of 

[  S24>  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

asking  heathen  nations  to  turn  from  a  dead  Buddha, 
Confucius,  or  Mohammed  to  a  living  and  coming 
Christ.  The  proclamation  of  the  full  gospel  requires  a 
fuller  emphasis  upon  the  prophetic  truth  emphasized  in 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  Church  is 
proclaiming  the  gospel  of  "justification  by  faith"  and 
"a  heavenly  inheritance  for  the  redeemed,"  but  the  king- 
dom view  of  the  gospel  has  been  too  little  emphasized. 
The  nations  are  to  be  confronted  with  warnings  con- 
cerning the  judgment  features  of  "the  day  of  God," 
and  are  to  be  gladdened  with  announcement  of  the  king- 
dom-glory that  shall  be  ours  when  the  Christ  we  serve 
"shall  come  again."  History  reveals  the  persistent  ten- 
dency of  the  Church  to  hold  limited  views  of  the  gospel. 
Through  centuries  the  doctrine  of  "justification  by 
faith"  was  hidden  under  traditions  and  ceremonialism. 
Its  reenforcement  by  Luther  brought  in  the  Reforma- 
tion. For  generations  the  great  missionary  command 
of  Christ  was  forgotten  and  neglected.  The  Church 
has  now  awakened  to  its  meaning.  "The  blessed  hope," 
or  the  realization  that  world  evangelization  will  permit 
the  return  of  Christ  and  the  introduction  of  the  glad 
kingdom-days  or  golden  age  of  prophecy  is  the  truth 
now  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  Church.  Its  admission 
and  realization  will  usher  in  a  new  era  of  service. 


[325] 


PAUL   WILHELM    SCHMIEDEL,   Th.D., 

ZURICH^   SWITZERLAND 

Professor  of  New  Testament  exegesis  at  the  University 
of  Zurich  since  1893;  born  at  Zaukeroda,  Germany,  Dec. 
22,  1851;  educated  at  the  Universities  of  Leipsic  and 
Jena;  privat-docent  of  theology  at  Jena,  1878;  associate 
professor  of  theology  at  Jena,  1890-93;  author  of  Qucb 
intercedat  ratio  inter  doctrinam  epistolce  at  Hehroeos  mis- 
soB  et  Pauli  apostoli  doctrinam;  "Handcommentar"  zu  den 
Brief  en  'an  die  Thessalonicher  und  Corinther;  Johannes- 
schriften  des  Neuen  Testaments  (English  translation.  The 
Johannine  Writings) ;  Die  Person  Jesu  im  Streite  der 
Meinungen  der  Gegenwart  (English  translation,  Jesus  in 
Modern  Criticism) ;  has  edited  R.  SeydeFs  Religions philos- 
ophie;  and  has  prepared  a  new  edition  of  G.  B.  Winer*s 
Grammatih  des  neutestamentlichen  Sprachidioms, 

THE    CREEDS   OF   THE   CHURCH  AND   MODERN 
REQUIREMENTS 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  Christian  churches  in  their 
creeds  demand  faith  in  dogmas  in  which  many  of  our 
day  can  no  longer  believe.  With  the  spread  of  culture 
and  education  this  discrepancy  will  be  felt  more  and 
more.  Thus  ever-growing  numbers  of  men  and  women 
will  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  they  might  derive  from 
the  Church,  and  the  latter  of  an  ever  larger  number  of 
desirable  members.  Such  a  state  of  things  earnestly 
calls  for  some  attempt  at  solution. 

But  this  is  not  as  easy  a  matter  as  Abraham  Lincoln 
imagined  when  he  said  he  would  join  only  a  church 
which  inscribes  over  its  altar,  as  its  sole  qualification 
for  membership,  the  Saviour's  statement:  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all 

[326] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself!" 

How  do  formulas  of  faith  arise,  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  which  is  demanded  of  church  members?  How 
did  those  arise  which  are  in  use  at  present?  They  are 
not  called  "creeds"  without  a  reason.  People  feeling 
at  one  in  religious  matters  wish  to  state  briefly  in  what 
that  unity  consists,  and  that  is  the  content  of  their  com- 
mon faith.  Lincoln's  formula  does  not  express  a  faith 
but  an  injunction.  A  religion,  however,  does  not  start 
by  setting  up  injunctions,  but  by  trying  to  give  expres- 
sion to  the  glad  consciousness  of  some  priceless  posses- 
sion, due  to  a  higher  Power.  However  briefly  stated, 
this  glad  consciousness  seeks  as  comprehensive  an 
expression  as  possible,  so  that  nothing  of  vital  impor- 
tance be  left  out.  The  more  intensely  the  truth  of  such 
a  religious  possession  is  felt,  the  less  restraint  is  observed 
in  expressing  it  in  the  form  of  doctrinal  statements. 
Creeds  which  are  the  natural  outcome  of  the  religious 
life,  and  not  an  artificial  fabrication,  always  rest  on  an 
absolute  conviction  of  the  indubitable  truth  of  the  as- 
sertions made. 

Let  us  recall  the  age  of  primitive  Christianity.  The 
oldest  creed  was:  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  or:  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God,  or:  Jesus  is  the  Lord  (Mark  8:  29;  Matt. 
16:  16;  Acts  8:  37;  Rom.  10:  9;  Phil.  2:  11).  Of  this 
everybody  was  convinced,  those  who  were  already 
Christians  as  well  as  those  intending  to  embrace  Chris- 
tianity. This  creed  distinguished  the  adherents  of  the 
new  religion  from  those  of  all  other  religions;  to  remain 
true  to  it,  the  martyrs  faced  death;  and  it  conquered 
the  world.  If  Christianity,  instead,  had  started  with 
Lincoln's  formula,  it  would  probably  not  exist  to-day. 

[327] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

And  yet  in  these  doctrines  about  Jesus  there  lurked 
already  all  those  difficulties  which  beset  us  to-day.  To 
begin  with,  such  expressions  as  the  Messiah,  the  Son 
of  God,  the  Lord,  could  be  differently  interpreted;  they 
did  not  convey  the  same  idea  to  all  who  used  them. 
Even  for  one  and  the  same  person  they  acquired  a  differ- 
ent meaning  after  the  death  of  Jesus  from  what  they 
had  had  before.  These  differences  of  opinion  could  not 
remain  concealed,  and  there  ensued  a  struggle,  in  which 
every  one  tried  to  prove  his  interpretation  to  be  the 
right  one  or  even  to  enforce,  in  some  way  or  other,  its 
general  acceptance. 

The  principal  trouble,  however,  with  regard  to  the 
future  lay  in  the  fact  that  these  terms  represented  dog- 
mas. The  characteristic  feature  of  a  dogma  is  not  fully 
described  by  saying  that  it  is  a  tenet  of  religion  which  a 
majority  of  people  have  publicly  declared  to  represent 
their  views.  Before  a  majority  of  people  can  so  ac- 
knowledge it,  it  must  have  taken  shape  in  the  thoughts 
of  a  single  person;  and  the  question  is  just  this — ^how 
this  thinking  process  leads  to  the  sort  of  doctrinal  utter- 
ances which  we  call  a  dogma  and  which  is  accepted 
by  others  as  a  statement  of  their  faith.  This  question 
must  be  answered  as  follows : 

A  dogma  is  the  formulation  of  a  religious  belief  by 
means  of  thoughts  and  convictions  extraneous  to  re- 
ligion. 

What  a  Messiah  is,  whether  God  could  have  begot- 
ten a  Son,  and  in  what  manner,  whether  and  how  a 
divine  being  could  have  become  man,  whether  the  resur- 
rection and  ascension  of  such  a  being  was  possible  and 
how  it  was  accomplished;  these,  and  numberless  other 
questions  arising  from  the  subject,  are  settled  accord- 

[  328  ] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  to  ideas  of  which  religion  unhesitatingly  makes  use, 
although  they  have  their  root,  not  in  religion  itself,  but 
in  a  general  tendency  to  form  a  conception  of  the  uni- 
verse, that  is,  in  the  philosophy  and  especially  the  meta- 
physics of  a  given  age. 

Now  it  is  a  characteristic  feature  of  all  such  philo- 
sophical tenets  that  they  are  subject  to  great  changes 
in  the  course  of  time.  What  one  age  holds  to  be  self- 
evident,  a  later  age  considers  a  fundamental  error. 
Then  dogmas  resting  on  such  tenets  can  no  longer  be 
held  to  be  true.  But  it  is  not  their  religious  content  to 
which  this  change  is  due.  The  purely  religious  thought 
which  forms  the  nucleus  of  the  dogma  of  Jesus,  the  Son 
of  God,  is  this:  Jesus  has  opened  up  to  us  a  view  of 
God's  attitude  toward  man  which  fills  our  hearts  with 
intense  joy.  This  conviction  could  be  shaken  by  a  new 
philosophy  proclaiming  that  there  is  no  God  or  none 
who  considers  man  or  holds  such  an  attitude  toward  him 
as  Christianity  asserts;  but  it  could  not  be  overthrown 
by  a  new  conception  of  what  a  Son  of  God  really  is.  On 
the  other  hand,  all  dogmatic  utterances  about  Jesus,  as 
the  Son  of  God,  become  obsolete  if  a  new  philosophy 
asserts  that  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  beget  a  Son  in 
any  way  whatsoever,  or  if  it  declares  that  for  a  divine 
omnipotent,  omniscient  Being  to  appear  on  earth,  his 
omnipotence,  omniscience,  etc.,  veiled  or  revealed,  would 
be  as  impossible  as  to  divest  itself  of  such  powers,  if 
they  really  had  formed  part  of  Christ's  psychological 
personality.  Even  Luther's  Reformation  bears  the  im- 
press of  the  philosophy  of  its  time  in  so  far  as  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Bible  that  the  risen  Lord  should  sit  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  was — ^not  given  up,  but — so  inter- 
preted as  to  mean  that  God's  right  hand  is  everywhere, 

[329] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

a  rendering  of  the  biblical  meaning  which  is  a  clumsy 
forcing  of  texts. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  this  fate  be- 
fell not  only  the  dogma  concerning  the  Son  of  God,  with 
all  it  implies,  as  mentioned  above,  but  also  that  of  the 
unity  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in  Christ,  that 
of  the  Trinity,  that  of  creation,  that  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  Bible — indeed,  practically,  all  the  so-called  ob- 
jective dogmas,  that  is,  all  those,  dealing  with  something 
said  to  exist  or  happen  outside  the  believer's  mental 
consciousness. 

Such  being  the  case,  would  it  not  be  far  better  if 
creeds  contained  no  dogmatic  assertions  at  all,  but  only 
such  purely  religious  utterances  as  the  aforesaid,  for 
instance,  that  Jesus  has  opened  up  to  us  a  view  of 
God's  attitude  toward  man  which  fills  our  hearts  with 
joy?  It  would  certainly  seem  to  be  so.  But  before  we 
follow  this  train  of  thought,  let  us  again  refer  to  history 
and  ask  ourselves  whether,  when  our  creeds  took  shape, 
such  a  renunciation  would  have  been  possible. 

This  question,  however,  must  be  answered  with  an 
emphatic  negative.  Even  if  the  early  Christians  could 
have  foreseen  that  their  doctrines  would  be  called  into 
question  by  a  later  age  they  could  not  have  avoided 
setting  up  their  dogmatic  formulas.  They  had  to  con- 
sider the  needs  of  their  own  time  and  to  find  a  formula 
by  which  to  attract  new  adherents  while  binding  together 
those  already  won.  No  doubt,  the  sole  reality  underly- 
ing their  dogmatic  assertions  that  Jesus  was  the  Mes- 
siah, or  the  Son  of  God,  or  the  Lord,  was  the  fact  that 
he  had  brought  them  salvation  in  the  religious  sphere; 
but  if,  in  their  creed,  they  had  limited  themselves  to 
calling  Jesus  their  Saviour  and  nothing  more,  they 

[330] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

would  have  said  less  than  they  felt  and  their  confession 
of  faith  would  have  lacked  in  vigor.  Because  the  other 
terms  employed  appeared  perfectly  legitimate,  they 
had  to  be  used,  for  it  is  ever  the  tendency  of  religious 
conviction  to  seek  for  the  fullest  possible  expression  of 
what  it  holds  to  be  true.  This  would  apply  equally,  for 
instance,  to  the  dogma  of  the  resurrection. 

Now  it  is  natural  that  a  creed,  once  formulated  and 
adopted  by  the  Church,  should  have  been  strictly  ad- 
hered to  during  the  centuries  that  followed.  Otherwise, 
the  Church  would'  have  feared  to  break  the  continuity 
with  her  past,  even  to  separate  herself  from  her  Foun- 
der. And,  naturally,  in  every  religion  which  has  a 
historic  founder,  strict  adherence  to  his  person  and 
teaching  is  considered  indispensable.  The  Reforma- 
tion of  the  sixteenth  century,  for  instance,  would  have 
had  neither  the  same  outward  success  nor  the  same  inner 
strength  without  the  consciousness  of  setting  aside  the 
authority  of  the  Church  in  favor  of  an  older  one,  namely 
the  authority  of  the  Bible.  We  are  only  beginning  to 
realize  the  possibility  of  keeping  in  close  touch  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Founder  of  our  religion  in  spite  of  giving 
up  formulas  supported  by  the  hitherto  prevalent  con- 
ception of  his  work  or  by  that  conveyed  by  the  Bible  or 
even  by  his  own  words. 

But  why  should  we  recall  the  past  ?  Because  of  what 
we  learn  from  it  in  regard  to  our  own  time.  We  learn 
how  our  creeds  were  formed  and  why  they  were  ad- 
hered to,  and  when  we  realize  how  natural  this  process 
was  and  how  completely  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of 
religion,  we  shall  no  longer  view  the  fact  in  an  unfavor- 
able light,  however  much  we  may  be  inclined  to  deplore 
it.    On  the  contrary,  we  shall  gladly  acknowledge  that 

[331] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christianity  has  done  its  very  best  to  pass  on  to  us  its 
most  precious  possession.  Thus,  if  any  one  feels  a  call 
to  improve  matters  within  the  Church,  let  him  fully 
appreciate  this  and  realize,  before  he  sets  to  work,  that 
there  is  no  room  in  it  for  grumbling  and  fault-finding 
with  the  past,  but  only  for  an  endeavor  at  readjustment 
according  to  altered  circumstances. 

But  even  if  an  attempt  be  made  at  a  restatement  of 
our  religious  convictions,  the  philosophy  of  our  time 
would  still  form  its  basis.  Religion  will  never  rest  con- 
tent with  purely  religious  utterances  of  the  kind  men- 
tioned before;  to  create  dogmas  is  a  tendency  inherent 
in  her  very  structure,  for  only  by  so  doing  can  she  bring 
her  religious  possession  into  touch  with  thoughts  and 
conceptions  indispensable  to  our  conmion  mental  con- 
sciousness. Even  Lincoln,  mentioning  God  in  his 
formula,  could  not  have  prevented  the  raising  of  the 
question  whether  any  one  believing  in  a  pantheistic  God 
was  a  Christian ;  and  even  if  he  himself  had  affirmed  that 
he  was,  others  would  have  denied  it.  And  thus  dog- 
matic controversy  would  not  have  been  barred  out  even 
by  a  statement  so  carefully  calculated  to  that  end. 

Moreover,  creeds  are  always  formulated  by  those 
whose  interest  in  religion  is  most  intense,  and  it  is  this 
very  intensity  of  religious  feeling  which  urges  them  to 
go  as  much  as  possible  into  detail  in  giving  doctrinal 
expressioil  to  their  faith.  And  when  there  exist  a  large 
number  of  religious  communities  vying  with  each  other 
for  precedence,  each  of  them  would,  naturally,  feel  the 
necessity  of  expressing  its  special  views  as  fully  as  pos- 
sible, thus  leading  to  ever  finer  shades  of  dogmatic  dis- 
tinctions, on  the  relative  values  of  which  the  layman  is 
hardly  in  a  position  to  form  a  judgment. 

[  832  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  this  is  far  less  the 
case  on  the  European  continent  than  in  English-speak- 
ing countries.  The  number  of  denominations  here  is 
small  and  their  membership,  numerically,  hardly  counts 
as  compared  with  that  of  the  Protestant  State  churches 
each  comprising  the  whole  geographical  area  of  a  po- 
litical state.  From  this  arises  another  difference — to 
most  people  the  question  of  joining  a  church  never  pre- 
sents itself.  They  are  born  within  the  Church,  formally 
admitted  to  it  at  baptism,  they  receive  their  religious 
education  in  it,  at  their  confirmation  between  the  ages 
of  fourteen  and  seventeen  they  are  asked  to  remain 
faithful  to  it,  and  this  they  promise.  If,  later  on,  they 
do  not  feel  satisfied  in  it,  they  usually  remain  passive; 
only  a  few  persons  of  unusual  energy  leave  the  church 
altogether  or  join  another,  as  such  a  change  entails 
irksome  formalities,  and,  so  far  as  the  education  of 
the  children  is  concerned,  considerable  disadvantages. 
Others  again,  lacking  neither  insight  nor  religious 
fervor,  are  still  loth  to  leave  their  church,  being  attached 
to  it  by  bonds  of  affection  from  childhood  upward. 

The  larger  a  religious  body  is,  the  less  frequently 
can  it  happen  that  the  individual  member,  as  may  hap- 
pen in  the  independent  denominations,  is  called  upon  to 
take  a  definite  attitude  with  regard  to  this  or  that  dogma 
of  the  Church.  Apart  from  the  children's  vow  at  con- 
firmation by  which  they  pledge  themselves,  in  almost  all 
the  churches,  to  acceptance  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  it  is 
only  at  a  baptism  that  the  godparents  are  asked  whether 
they  are  willing  that  their  godchild  should  be  brought 
up  in  this  creed,  and  in  the  services  of  the  church  it  is 
read  as  the  creed  of  the  whole  congregation. 

On  the  other  hand,  tests  for  the  clergy,  when  called 

1333  2 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  holy  orders,  binding  them  to  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
and  the  creeds  of  their  State  Churches,  are  exacting, 
and  in  some  comitries  the  clergy  are  under  strict  super- 
vision, so  as  to  prevent  any  deviation  from  orthodoxy. 
Mulert  gives  in  Die  Lehrverpflichtung  in  der  evange- 
lischen  Kirche  Deutschlands  a  good  collection  of 
these  formulas,  from  which  the  following,  used  in  the 
eight  older  provinces  of  Prussia  since  1895,  is  taken: 

"It  is  forbidden  a  Protestant  clergyman  to  preach 
and  to  spread  another  doctrine  than  that  founded  on 
God's  pure  and  clear  word,  expressed  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  our  only  norm 
of  belief,  testified  to  in  the  Apostles',  the  Nicene,  and 
the  Athanasian  creeds,  and  in  the  creeds  of  our  Church, 
established  in  the  time  of  the  Reformation  {Confessio 
Augustana,  etc.)." 

This  state  of  things  is  typical  of  the  distressing  po- 
sition of  all  liberal-minded  members  of  such  a  church. 
If  these  directions  were  strictly  carried  out,  such  persons 
would  never  receive  religious  guidance  of  a  kind  con- 
genial to  them,  nor  their  children  a  religious  education 
which  they  could  approve.  People  often  say  that  mem- 
bers dissatisfied  with  their  church  should  leave  it.  There 
might  be  something  in  this  argument  if  there  existed  side 
by  side  with  their  church  another  which  they  could  join, 
but  on  the  Continent  there  is  none.  In  proportion  as  a 
State  Church  claims,  as  against  the  diversity  of  the  free 
denominations,  to  minister  to  the  religious  needs  of  all 
belonging  to  her  by  birth,  she  should  be  so  organized 
as  really  to  fulfil  this  mission,  and,  moreover,  the  right 
of  minorities  (which  might  easily  turn  out  to  be  ma- 
jorities) should  be  respected.  As  matters  are  at  pres- 
ent, it  is  entirely  forgotten  that  a  church  should  stand 

[334] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

toward  her  members  in  such  a  relation  as  Paul  consid- 
ered to  be  the  right  one  in  regard  to  his  churches,  ac- 
cording to  his  words:  "Not  that  we  have  lordship  over 
your  faith,  but  are  helpers  of  your  joy"  (2  Cor.  1 :  24) . 
But  in  order  to  prove  that  in  some  instances  the 
case  is  different,  let  us  quote  the  formula  in  use  in 
Nassau  up  to  the  year  1843: 

A  clergyman  pledges  himself  to  teach  the  Christian 
doctrine  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Protestant 
Church  as,  on  due  deliberation  and  to  the  best  of  his 
knowledge,  he  finds  it  in  the  Bible; 

and  the  formula  in  use  in  the  canton  of  Zurich  since 
1905: 

"Will  you  promise,  as  faithful  servants  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  to  preach,  from  conviction  and  with 
devotion,  the  gospel  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  on  the 
basis  of  the  Holy  Scriptures?" 

In  the  same  connection  may  be  mentioned  the  fol- 
lowing sentences  from  the  statutes  of  the  Mennonites 
at  Cref eld  in  the  Prussian  province  of  the  Rhine,  dated 
1912: 

"Our  community  of  Mennonites  forms  part  of  the 
communities  of  Mennonites  existing  in  many  countries. 
.  .  .  It  stands  for  those  aims  in  life  which  Jesus 
Christ  has  placed  before  us,  regarding,  as  the  signs  of 
a  Christian  community,  purity  of  mind  and  active  love. 
.  .  .  Their  pastor,  untrammeled  by  the  yoke  of  a 
dogmatic  formula,  is  in  duty  bound,  by  his  life  and 
through  his  teaching,  to  seek  the  welfare  of  his  com- 
munity, to  fulfil  faithfully,  to  the  best  of  his  abilities 
and  in  accord  with  his  conscience,  the  duties  of  his  office 
as  preacher  and  teacher,  and  to  minister,  to  the  best  of 
his  capacity,  to  those  who  desire  his  services." 

[335] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Mention  should  further  be  made  that  in  the  cantons 
of  Neuenburg  and  Geneva  tests  for  the  clergy  are  pro- 
hibited. 

So  we  possess  already  what  Lincoln  desired,  but 
only  in  such  isolated  cases  as  to  be  practically  of  no 
avail  to  the  majority  of  those  who  wish  for  it. 

That  such  a  satisfactory  state  of  things  as  just  de- 
scribed will  become  more  general  appears,  in  view  of 
the  signs  of  the  times,  to  be  quite  out  of  the  question  for 
a  long  while  to  come.  Strict  adherence  to  the  tests  (or 
formulas)  has,  it  is  true,  been  occasionally  somewhat 
relaxed,  as  in  Prussia  and  Saxony,  but  on  the  whole 
the  historic  tradition  is  closely  adhered  to. 

Now,  if  we  ask  what  should  be  done,  under  such 
circumstances,  it  is  just  from  the  most  imcompromising 
and  exclusive  of  Lutheran  creeds  that  a  hint  can  be 
taken.  The  Formula  of  Concord  (dated  1577)  express- 
ly states,  toward  the  end  of  its  preface,  that  creeds  are 
not  endowed,  as  the  Bible  is,  with  the  authority  of  a 
judge,  but  are  to  be  considered  only  as  witnesses  to  the 
faith,  showing  how  controversial  points  in  the  Bible  have 
been  understood  and  interpreted  within  the  Church  by 
the  teachers  of  each  age. 

This  statement  is  the  outcome  of  an  unlimited  rev- 
erence for  the  Bible,  but  it  contains  so  much  truth  as  to 
allow  of  its  being  applied  even  against  the  Bible.  Dur- 
ing the  last  hundred  years  or  so  the  view  has  gained  more 
and  more  adherents  that  the  Bible,  too,  is  only  a  collec- 
tion of  writings  which  bear  witness  to  the  conceptions 
of  Christianity  prevalent  in  their  time. 

If  the  churches  are  so  reluctant  to  act  upon  these 
suggestions,  then  let  the  laity  take  the  lead !  Religious- 
minded  laymen,  holding  modern  views,  should  not  allow 

[336] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

themselves  to  be  ousted  from  the  churches  because  these 
uphold  doctrines  no  longer  tenable.  They  know  the 
invaluable  help  derived  from  fellowship  in  the  religious 
life  and  feel  the  need  of  it.  They  know,  too,  what  the 
churches  do  not  yet  realize,  that  the  earnest  search  for 
truth  is  sufficient  to  engender  such  a  spiritual  fellowship 
and  to  generate  its  vivifying  influence  of  mutual  help- 
fulness. And  if  a  common  possession  is  insisted  upon, 
they  further  know,  what  again  the  churches  fail  to  rec- 
ognize, that  the  faith  in  the  power  of  truth,  of  goodness, 
and  of  love  forms  such  a  common  possession.  And  if  an 
existing  formula  should  be  considered  necessary  to  mark 
the  bond  of  union  between  all  Christian  believers,  they 
know,  what  again  the  churches  ignore,  that  our  Lord's 
prayer  amply  suffices. 

Where  a  number  of  denominations  exists,  the  one 
approximating  most  nearly  to  one's  ideal  may  be  chosen. 
Where  there  is  no  choice  but  the  State  Church,  we  rec- 
ommend that  a  relative,  not  an  absolute,  separation  of 
Church  and  State  be  aimed  at. 

So  long  as  such  a  state  of  things  does  not  prevail, 
however,  religious-minded  laymen  and  women,  holding 
such  views,  should  publicly  declare  that  they  do  not  feel 
themselves  bound  by  those  doctrines,  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  which  is  demanded  by  the  Church,  and  they 
should  not  give  up  their  membership  in  the  Church 
because  of  those  dogmas.  Other  members  of  the 
Church,  who  feel  called  upon  to  give  doctrinal  expres- 
sion to  the  theoretical  views  of  the  majority  of  church 
members  may,  for  this  purpose,  readapt  old  doctrines 
or  formulate  new  ones.  Such  an  endeavor,  so  entirely 
in  accord  with  the  very  nature  of  a  church,  is,  for  this 
very  reason,  necessary ;  on  the  other  hand  it  ought  to  be 

[337] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

permitted  to  remain  in  a  church  or  to  join  another,  not 
because  of  her  doctrines,  nay,  even  in  spite  of  them,  but 
solely  on  account  of  the  religious  spirit  permeating  her 
which,  in  any  case,  is  more  important  than  dogma. 

And  this  observation  leads  us  back  to  the  words  of 
Lincoln  with  which  we  started.  There  exists  no  Chris- 
tian church  that  would  not  uphold  his  two  injunctions; 
so  if  only  he  could  have  overcome,  in  the  way  in  which 
we  find  it  right  to  do  so,  his  aversion  to  dogma,  he  might 
have  joined  any  one  of  them.  Yet,  it  must  be  said  that 
there  still  exists  considerable  difference  as  to  the  degree 
in  which  these  commandments  react  on  life  in  the  va- 
rious churches.  This  being  the  case,  a  man  or  woman 
of  the  present  day,  feeling  as  Lincoln  did,  should  be 
entitled,  if  there  is  a  possibility  of  choice,  to  choose  that 
church  where  is  found  not,  perhaps,  so  much  the  best 
doctrine  as  the  best  practice  of  the  love  of  God  and  the 
love  of  one's  neighbor. 

And  lay  members  of  this  mind  should  take  an  active 
part  in  church  government  and  in  social  and  charitable 
activities  of  their  churches,  thereby  proving  to  conserva- 
tive members  that  they  are  as  keenly  alive  to  religious 
interests  as  they  themselves.  Thus  many  a  misunder- 
standing might  be  avoided,  many  a  seemingly  hopeless 
chasm  bridged  over,  and  they  would  be  enabled  to  en- 
joy what  the  Church  really  has  to  offer  them.  There  is, 
fortunately,  a  wealth  of  religious  stimulus,  consolation, 
and  help,  far  greater  than  reveals  itself  at  first  sight, 
embedded  in  those  antiquated  forms;  and  we  come  at 
once  under  its  beneficent  influence  when  we  no  longer 
feel  on  the  defensive  against  the  forms  in  which  it  is 
offered  us. 

If  laymen  with  strong  religious  feelings  and  ad- 

[338] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

vanced  views  would  act  in  this  way,  their  example  might 
have  a  beneficial  effect,  also,  on  those  who  keep  away 
from  church,  not  so  much  because  of  their  aversion  to 
dogma,  but  in  consequence  of  their  religious  indiffer- 
ence. Most  of  them  are  not  entirely  without  a  religious 
interest  which  might  be  aroused  if  they  were  shown  a 
way  to  satisfy  it  which  would  be  acceptable  to  them. 

And  liberal-minded  theologians  of  advanced  views 
should  not  hesitate  to  become  ministers  of  the  Church 
and  to  work,  together  with  the  laity,  for  its  reorganiza- 
tion from  within.  More  than  once  a  large  number  of 
Prussian  pastors  have  informed  their  official  authorities 
that  they  did  not  hold  themselves  committed  to  a  literal 
acceptance  of  the  creeds,  and  that,  in  the  exercise  of 
their  office,  they  would  be  guided  only  by  the  dictates  of 
conscience,  and  the  authorities  remained  silent.  Such 
modern  theologians,  however,  should  avoid  artificial  use 
of  an  antiquated,  dogmatic  terminology. 

A  hundred  years  or  so  ago,  the  whole  Church  in 
England  and  Germany  was  dominated  by  a  trend  in 
religion,  very  similar  to  that  of  our  own  day,  in  the 
demand  for  liberty  from  antiquated  church  dogmas  and 
for  the  placing  of  stress  on  the  predominance  of  reason 
in  theological  thinking.  Nothing  could  withstand  the 
overwhelming  force  of  those  ideas.  Why  should  such 
a  period  not  reappear?  If  it  does,  let  it  find  us  better 
prepared  than  those  before  us  to  gain  for  a  theology 
which  is  desirous  not  to  find  itself  in  contradiction  with 
any  really  acknowledged  truth,  and  yet  is  an  unfolding 
of  the  deepest,  most  heartfelt  piety,  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship— ^not  sole  government — within  the  Church. 


IS391 


THE  REV.  CHARLES  MONROE  SHELDON, 

D.D., 

TOPEKA^   KAN. 

Minister-at-large  of  the  Central  Church,  Topeka,  Kan., 
since  1912;  born  at  Wellsville,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  26,  1857;  grad- 
uated from  Brown  University,  1883,  and  from  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  1886;  ordained  to  the  Congrega- 
tional ministry,  1886;  pastor  at  Waterbury,  Vt.,  1886- 
88;  Central  Church,  Topeka,  1889-1912;  author  of  Rich- 
ard Bruce;  Robert  Hardy's  Seven  Days;  The  Twentieth 
Door;  The  Crucifixion  of  Philip  Strong;  John  King's 
Question  Class;  His  Brother's  Keeper;  In  His  Steps; 
Malcolm  Kirk;  Lend  a  Hand;  The  Redemption  of  Free- 
town; The  Miracle  at  Markham;  One  of  the  Two;  For 
Christ  and  the  Church;  Edward  Blake;  Born  to  Serve; 
Who  Killed  Joe's  Baby?;  The  Wheels  of  the  Machine; 
The  Reformer;  The  Narrow  Gate;  The  Heart  of  the 
World;  Paul  Douglas;  The  Good  Fight;  A  Sheldon  Year 
Book;  The  High  Calling;  A  Builder  of  Ships;  "Jesus  is 
here." 

I  HAVE  always  believed  in  a  simple  declaration  of  Chris- 
tian principles  and  have  always  been  willing  to  receive 
into  my  own  church  in  Topeka,  any  man  or  woman  who 
simply  said  he  believed  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Saviour 
and  Friend  without  asking  for  a  detailed  definition  of 
the  person's  theology.  If  I  were  to  ask  the  members  of 
my  church  to  write  down  an  honest  confession  of  all  the 
things  they  believe  in  religion  and  their  reasons  for  it  I 
would  have  almost  as  many  different  definitions  as  I 
have  members;  but  I  cannot  say  that  that  fact  makes 
very  much  difference  with  the  most  important  thing  of 
all  and  that  is  the  daily  Christian  life.  Character  is  one 
thing;  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith  seem  to  be  very 

[  340  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

many.  What  the  Church  needs  is  a  vital  and  funda- 
mental unity  of  purpose.  If  it  can  determine  what 
the  main  thing  in  religion  is,  that  is  enough  without 
anything  more.  In  my  experience,  however,  I  do 
not  find  a  great  many  people  are  kept  out  of 
Church  for  the  reason  that  Abraham  Lincoln  gave, 
but  a  great  many  stay  out,  of  their  own  selfishness, 
most  of  them,  I  think,  because  they  are  not  willing 
to  follow  the  Master's  teaching  and  be  real  Christians. 
They  claim  to  stumble  over  this  or  that  imperfection 
of  the  Church  in  its  organized  life  or  in  its  professed 
creed  when  in  reality  the  real  trouble  is  with  themselves 
and  their  unwillingness  to  do  the  Christian  thing  which 
they  know  perfectly  well  and  which  no  man-made 
creed  has  ever  hindered  any  Christian  from  doing. 
I  am  perfectly  willing,  myself,  as  a  minister  and 
one  who  has  always  been  called  orthodox,  at  least  in 
some  particulars,  to  receive  any  man  or  woman  into  full 
church  membership  who  simply  says  he  is  trying  to  live 
the  Christian  life,  without  asking  him  to  define  what  it  all 
means  except  as  it  finds  expression  in  his  own  daily 
attempt  to  do  what  Jesus  commanded ;  but  even  a  church 
with  as  simple  a  creed  as  that  will  not  draw  all  men  into 
it.  I  do  not  find  myself  ready  to  criticize  or  condenm 
the  Church  for  the  failure  of  men  to  come  into  it.  I 
think  the  same  conditions  prevail  now  which  prevailed 
in  the  time  of  the  Master  when  he  himself  said,  "They 
(the  people)  will  not  come  unto  me  that  they  might 
have  eternal  life."  If  the  people  would  not  come  to 
Christ,  they  will  not  always  come  to  me  or  to  my  church, 
and  nothing  I  can  do  in  the  way  of  changing  my  creed 
or  throwing  the  door  open  any  wider  or  trying  to  make 
it  any  more  simple  will  induce  certain  types  of  men  to 

[341] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

come  into  church  membership.  I  am  wholly  out  of  sym- 
pathy with  any  spirit  which  is  denouncing  the  Church 
to-day  for  the  failure  to  reform  all  of  the  world.  I 
think  it  is  the  coward's  position  where  men  in  great  and 
small  towns  blame  the  Church  for  all  the  evil  conditions 
that  exist.  The  Church  is  not  responsible  alone  for  all 
the  redemption  of  society.  The  salvation  of  the  world  is 
so  great  a  task  that  it  requires  all  the  forces  of  civiliza- 
tion to  combine — the  home,  the  press,  the  school,  the 
State,  and  the  Church  together  are  not  any  too  great, 
all  of  them  combined,  to  help  in  the  formation  of  a 
Christian  character,  and  none  of  them  has  the  right  to 
throw  all  the  burden  of  responsibility  upon  the  others 
or  upon  any  one  of  the  others.  In  many  towns  the 
home,  through  its  failure,  is  more  to  blame  for  existing 
conditions  than  the  Church,  and  in  other  towns  the 
daily  press  is  the  great  force  for  evil  which  is  hindering 
the  reformation  of  the  place.  To  sum  up  my  position 
I  may  say  frankly  that  I  am  in  favor  of  the  simplest 
creed  in  the  matter  of  conditions  for  church  member- 
ship. If  that  will  remove  any  barrier  which  now  exists 
to  hinder  men  of  any  type  from  connecting  them- 
selves with  the  Church,  I  am  in  favor  of  removing  that 
barrier  without  compromising  in  the  least  with  any  form 
of  what  may  be  called  worldliness.  Practically,  I  do 
not  think  a  Christianity  which  denies  the  divinity  of 
Christ  is  going  to  accomplish  much  for  the  real  redemp- 
tion of  mankind ;  and  a  Christianity  which  does  not  have 
that  kind  of  Christ  in  the  center  of  it,  in  the  Church  or 
out  of  it,  will  never  prevail  to  any  appreciable  extent. 
I  cannot  help  feeling  that  Abraham  Lincoln  even  might 
have  been  mistaken,  and  if  he  had  come  into  some  church 
and  identified  himself  with  it  enthusiastically,  he  could 

[342] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

have  lived  a  Christian  life  just  as  well  without  being 
hindered  by  any  creed  that  the  church  might  have  de- 
manded, and  at  the  same  time  his  influence  with  the 
world  would  have  been  greatly  enhanced — his  influence, 
I  mean,  over  young  men  who  hesitate  and  claim,  with- 
out as  much  honesty  as  he  had,  the  same  excuses.  I 
have  never  had  much  sympathy  with  men  who  kept  out 
of  the  arena  and  sat  on  the  benches  to  criticize  in  any 
fashion  those  who  were  fighting,  no  matter  how  feebly, 
down  in  the  middle.  I  believe  it  is  better  for  men  to 
join  imperfect  organizations  and  sacrifice  some  personal 
feeling  rather  than  try  to  live  their  Christian  lives  out- 
side of  the  organized  forces.  Individual  Christianity 
cannot  in  the  nature  of  the  case  do  the  work  for  the 
world  that  organized  Christianity  can  do.  I  believe  the 
feeblest  church  organized  to-day  to  do  some  form  of 
Christian  work  and  be  an  inspiration  for  Christian  life 
is  infinitely  better  than  a  scattered  number  of  individ- 
uals, although  every  one  of  them  may  claim  to  be  living 
a  better  life  than  church  members.  It  is  not  fair  to  the 
Master  or  to  his  kingdom  for  any  man,  no  matter  how 
good,  to  walk  along  his  way  alone  and  in  so  doing  threw 
discredit  upon  the  organization  which  the  Master  loves 
and  for  which  he  gave  himself.  There  are  plenty  of 
churches  at  the  present  time  that  do  not  offer  any  ob- 
stacles to  any  man  who  wants  to  live  a  Christian  life  so 
far  as  the  creed  of  the  organization  is  concerned ;  and  I 
feel  very  emphatic  in  my  own  mind  concerning  the 
present  attitude  of  many  both  within  and  out  of  the 
(Church  who  criticize  the  church  organization  and  make 
it  a  stumbling-block  rather  than  an  open  door  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Christ  loved  the  Church  and  gave 
himself  up  for  it,  not  because  it  was  a  perfect  organiza- 

[343] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tion  but  because  it  stood  for  his  life  and  teaching.  It  is 
not  conceivable  that  if  he  were  here  to-day  he  would 
refuse  to  belong  to  a  church  for  the  reason  Abraham 
Lincoln  gave. 


[S44] 


HERMANN  SIEBECK,  Ph.D.,  Th.D., 

GIESSEN^   GERMANY 

Professor  of  philosophy  at  the  University  of  Giessen  since 
1883;  born  at  Eisleben,  Sept,  28,  1842;  educated  at  the 
Universities  erf  Leipsic,  Berlin,  and  Halle;  has  taught  at 
Gera,  Stargard,  and  Halle;  privat-docent  at  Halle,  1872- 
75;  professor  at  the  University  of  Basel,  1875-83;  author 
of  U Titer suchung en  zur  Philosophie  der  Griechen;  Das 
Wesen  der  aesthetischen  Anschauungen;  Ueber  Bewusstsein 
als  Schranke  der  Naturerkenntnis ;  Geschichte  der  Psychol- 
ogie;  Wesen  und  Zrveck  des  wissenschaftlichen  Studiums; 
Ueber  die  Lehre  vom  genetischen  Fortschritt  der  Mensch- 
heit;  Lehrbuch  der  Religions-Philosophie ;  Aristoteles; 
Goethe  als  Denker;  Ueber  musikalische  Einfiihlung;  Zur 
Religions-Philosophie;  Grundfragen  zur  Psychologie  und 
Msthetik  der  Tonkunst;  Ueber  Freiheit,  Entwicklung  und 
Vorsehung, 

The  significance  of  the  Church  and  its  warrant  lie  in 
the  fact  that  it  matures  and  reconstructs  the  forms  of 
its  cultus  in  the  sense  of  religious  fellowship.  It  desires 
to  engender  and  preserve  a  common  living  religious 
consciousness,  and  by  means  of  this  to  strengthen  the 
religious  consciousness  of  the  individual.  Along  with 
this  goes  an  activity  directed  toward  the  ethical.  The 
more  the  individual  consciousness  that  is  strengthened 
in  the  presence  of  deity  feels  and  knows  itself  before 
God  as  partaking  in  religious  fellowship,  the  stronger 
becomes  the  basis  for  its  manifestation  in  the  interest  of 
the  maintenance  and  of  the  well-being  of  the  individuals 
that  compose  the  fellowship. 

The  ecclesiastical  institution  also  brings  to  expres- 
sion for  religion  the  anthropological  truth  that  man  is  a 
social  being,  and  that  all  which  he  contributes  in  his 

[  345  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

normal  activity  and  productivity  out  of  the  common 
good  and  common  deeds  belongs  to  him  only  as  he 
belongs  to  society.  What  answers  to  a  need  of  the 
individual  is  that  he  assures  himself  of  his  relationship 
to  the  supramundane  and  the  divine  upon  the  ground 
and  in  the  framework  of  religious  fellowship.  There 
is,  moreover,  a  means  of  allowing  the  content  of  the 
religious  disposition  to  emerge  objectively,  and  espe- 
cially of  bringing  that  which  is  inexpressible  and  un- 
attainable to  "discursive"  thinking  into  at  least  relative 
intimacy  to  the  individual.  Through  this  the  religious 
consciousness  first  gains  the  ability  to  make  suitable 
to  others  its  own  peculiar  capabilities  for  self-sacrifice, 
and  to  conserve  it  continually  for  those  who  already  live 
therein.  Again,  it  is  especially  significant  that  essential 
interest  in  the  saving  of  souls  becomes  current  together 
with  the  (development  of  the)  ecclesiastical.  Through 
the  religious  coramunity  and  its  representatives  the  be- 
ing and  existence  of  the  supramundane  are  to  be 
brought  home  to  the  consciousness  that  was  originally 
bounded  by  the  mundane,  and  are  continually  to  be  re- 
ferred to  him  who  is  constantly  leading  in  that  direction. 
The  Church  with  its  agencies  is  to  care  for  souls  as  that 
ofiice  can  be  exercised  upon  the  basis  of  and  in  the  way 
of  fellowship.  The  minister,  not  as  "priest"  but  as  he 
who  cares  for  souls,  is  the  preacher  of  the  concept  of 
salvation  that  is  authoritative  for  the  fellowship  of  mem- 
bers. In  and  through  the  Church  which  rules  in  the 
spiritual  self  the  religious  life  is  to  attain  to  a  conclusive 
external  expression.  In  those  matters  which  belong 
specifically  to  the  cultus  the  Church  perceives  not  the 
means  of  introducing,  out  of  temporal  interest,  the  Deity 
into  the  world,  but  the  operation  and  expression  of  a 

[  346  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

common  disposition  that  rejects  and  conquers  the  world. 
At  any  rate  it  may  be  recognized  that  among  religiously 
disposed  individual  personalities  the  need  of  affiliation 
to  the  ecclesiastical  community  both  may  and  must  be 
felt  in  varying  degrees  of  intensity. 


[S47] 


.WILLIAM   MACDONALD    SINCLAIR, 
D.D.,    F.R.S.L.,   F.R.G.S., 

HENFIELD,   ENGLAND 

Archdeacon  of  London  and  canon  of  St.  Paul's  since  1889; 
born  at  Leeds,  June  3,  1850;  educated  at  Balliol  College, 
Oxford;  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  1874;  curate  of 
Tortworth,  Gloucester,  1874-75;  assistant  minister  of  Que- 
bec Chapel,  London,  and  evening  lecturer  in  logic  at 
King's  College,  London,  1875-76;  vicar  of  St.  Stephen's, 
Westminster,  1880-89;  rector  of  Shermanbury,  Henfield, 
Sussex,  since  1911;  honorary  chaplain  to  the  Queen,  1889- 
95;  chaplain  in  ordinary,  1895-1901;  honorary  chaplain 
to  King  Edward  after  1901 ;  grand  chaplain  of  England 
after  1894;  author  of  The  Psalms,  the  Authorized  Ver- 
sion in  the  Original  Rhythm;  Commentary  on  the  Epistles 
of  St.  John;  Lessons  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John;  The  Chris- 
tian's Influence;  Christ  and  our  Times;  Words  to  the  Laity 
on  Subjects  of  Ecclesiastical  Controversy ;  Leaders  of 
Thought  in  the  English  Church;  Points  at  Issue  between 
the  Church  of  England  and  the  Church  of  Rome;  The 
Churches  of  the  East;  Memorials  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral; 
The  Servant  of  Christ;  Simplicity  in  Christ;  The  New 
Law;  Chapters  in  the  Christian  Life;  Unto  You,  Young 
Men;  Likewise  the  Younger  Women;  Difficulties  of  Our 
Day. 

SIMPLIFICATION  OF  CONFESSION 

The  elaborateness  of  the  various  church  creeds  and  sym- 
bols has  arisen  from  the  desire  to  establish  certain  posi- 
tions which  are  believed  to  have  been  gained  in  the  long 
course  of  controversy,  and  to  provide  against  error. 
This  desire  has  grown  from  the  belief  in  the  verbal  in- 
spiration of  Holy  Scripture;  and  though  that  belief 
has  long  been  found  to  be  untenable,  its  effects  upon 
the  history  of  doctrine  are  still  strong  and  formidable. 
The  spirit  which  finds  in  "Hoc  est  corpus  meum,"  in 

[348] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

spite  of  the  notable  variations  in  the  four  accounts  of  the 
institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  a  definitive  and  exclu- 
sive dogma,  is  still  powerful  in  every  church. 

At  the  present  day,  the  Church  of  Rome  is  bound  by 
the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  Creed  of  Pope 
Pius  IV,  and  by  the  Vatican  decrees ;  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land by  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  including  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  the  Nicene,  and  the  Athanasian;  the  Lutheran 
churches  by  the  Confession  of  Augsburg;  the  Presby- 
terian churches  by  the  Longer  and  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chisms; the  Methodists  by  the  numerous  volumes  of 
Wesley's  sermons.  As  long  as  there  is  a  general  deter- 
mination to  abide  by  all  these,  and  a  sense  of  sacrilegious 
horror  and  dismay  at  the  idea  of  putting  any  of  their 
formulas  aside,  there  is  no  possibility  of  any  return  to 
New  Testament  simplicity.  Probably  there  is  a  very 
large  body  of  Romanists  who  find  their  doctrinal  ap- 
paratus overwhelming;  very  few  members  of  the  Church 
of  England  are  content  with  the  Thirty-nine  Articles 
as  they  exist ;  many  Presbyterians,  though  profound  ad- 
mirers of  the  Longer  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  would 
like  to  rest  on  a  less  ambitious  basis;  many  Wesleyans 
would  admit  that  the  vast  theological  and  homiletic  out- 
pourings of  John  Wesley  are  a  cumbrous  bond  of  intel- 
lectual and  religious  union.  But  there  is  everywhere  a 
dread  lest  when  once  the  familiar  ground  is  left,  the 
members  of  the  different  denominations  of  Christ's 
divided  body  may  be  led  into  regions  still  less  to  be 
preferred. 

In  the  Church  of  England  it  has  been  the  aim  of  the 
Broad-church  party  to  work  quietly  and  unostenta- 
tiously for  a  more  primitive  simplicity.  Broad-church- 
men, of  course,  are  not,  and  never  can  be  a  party:  they 

[  319  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

are  merely  an  aggregation  of  those  who  cannot  be  right- 
ly classed  as  either  High-churchmen  or  Evangelicals. 
They  include  representatives  of  the  old  Latitudinarian 
tendencies  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  the  last  cen- 
tury their  principal  manifesto  was  Essays  and  Reviews: 
Ecce  Homo  might  be  added.  In  the  present  century, 
they  have  issued  volumes  of  essays  both  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge.  Harnack's  writings  have  made  a  great  im- 
pression on  English  thought :  Bishop  Boyd  Carpenter's 
Bampton  Lectures,  "Some  Permanent  Elements  in 
Christianity/^  on  a  constructive  basis,  were  in  favor  of 
simplicity :  among  laymen  Sir  Oliver  Lodge  has  written 
in  the  same  direction. 

The  strength  of  the  Anglo-Catholic  or  High-church 
party  and  of  the  corresponding  Evangelical  party  is  so 
great  and  preponderating,  that  no  reformer  could  hope, 
in  the  lifetime  of  the  present  generation,  to  see  any 
change  of  symbols.  Even  the  proposal  to  relax  the  ob- 
ligation to  repeat  the  Athanasian  Creed,  with  its  damna- 
tory clauses,  in  the  public  services  of  the  church  created 
so  great  a  disturbance  that  there  was  no  chance  of  its 
being  adopted.  Nor  would  the  Evangelicals  be  willing 
to  modify  the  basis  which  they  find  in  Holy  Scripture 
and  the  Reformation.  A  discussion,  therefore,  of  this 
subject  becomes  to  a  large  extent  academic  and  ideal. 
But  that  does  not  condemn  it  to  barren  inutility:  the 
present  situation  is  plainly  unreasonable,  and  light  must 
come  from  wholesome  controversy. 

The  difficulty  in  the  way  of  simplification  is,  that  in 
orderly,  regularly  constituted  bodies,  such  as  national 
churches,  or  large  religious  conmiunities,  there  must  be 
some  basis  of  doctrinal  concord,  otherwise  congregations 
would  be  perpetually  startled  and  upheaved  by  violent 

[350] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

contrasts  of  teaching.  This  would  especially  be  the  case 
in  Episcopal  churches,  where  the  bishop  has  immense 
influence  in  his  diocese.  The  want  of  continuity  would 
be  very  disastrous.  On  the  other  hand,  to  discuss,  as 
Harnack  does,  what  is  the  true  meaning  of  Christianity, 
must  be  salutary. 

The  ideal  would  be  to  reproduce  the  preaching  and 
teaching  of  Christ  without  subsequent  himian  adjuncts. 
And  then  there  might  be  two  symbols:  one  for  the 
clergy,  with  regard  to  their  message;  the  other,  a  very 
simple  one,  for  the  laity  with  regard  to  membership  of 
the  Church. 

It  is  of  the  second  that  it  is  more  advisable  and  ap- 
propriate to  speak. 

"If,"  says  Harnack,  "we  take  a  general  view  of 
Jesus'  teaching,  we  shall  find  that  it  may  be  grouped 
under  three  heads.  They  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  con- 
tain the  whole,  and  hence  it  can  be  exhibited  in  its  en- 
tirety in  any  one  of  them.  Firstly,  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  its  coming.  Secondly,  God  the  Father  and  the  in- 
finite value  of  the  human  soul.  Thirdly,  the  higher 
righteousness,  and  the  commandment  of  love.  .  .  . 

The  gospel  is  no  theoretical  system  of  doctrine,  or 
philosophy  of  the  universe;  it  is  doctrine  only  in  so  far 
as  it  proclaims  the  reality  of  God  the  Father.  It  is  a 
glad  message  assuring  us  of  life  eternal,  and  telling  us 
what  the  things  and  the  forces  with  which  we  have  to 
do  are  worth.  By  treating  of  life  eternal  it  teaches  us 
how  to  lead  our  lives  aright.  It  tells  us  of  the  value 
of  the  human  soul,  of  humility,  of  mercy,  of  purity,  of 
the  cross,  and  the  worthlessness  of  worldly  goods  and 
anxiety  for  the  things  of  which  earthly  life  consists. 
And  it  gives  the  assurance  that,  in  spite  of  every  strug- 
gle, peace,  certainty,  and  something  within  that  can 
never  be  destroyed,  will  be  the  crown  of  a  life  rightly 

[S51] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

led.  What  else  can  the  confession  of  a  creed  mean 
under  these  conditions  but  to  do  the  will  of  God,  in  the 
certainty  that  he  is  the  Father  and  the  one  who  will 
recompense?  Jesus  never  spoke  of  any  other  kind  of 
creed?  Even  when  he  says:  Whosoever  shall  confess 
me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  my  father 
which  is  in  heaven,  he  is  thinking  of  people  doing  as 
he  did;  he  means  the  confession  which  shews  itself  in 
feeling  and  action.  How  great  a  departure  from 
what  he  thought  and  inspired  is  involved  in  putting  a 
'ChristologicaF  creed  in  the  forefront  of  the  gospel, 
and  in  teaching  that  before  a  man  can  approach  it  he 
must  learn  to  think  rightly  about  Christ.  That  is  put- 
ting the  cart  before  the  horse.  A  man  can  think  and 
teach  rightly  about  Christ  only  if,  and  in  so  far  as,  he 
has  begun  to  live  according  to  Christ's  gospel.  (*If 
any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself.') 
There  is  no  forecourt  to  his  message  through  which  a 
man  must  pass ;  no  yoke  which  he  must  first  of  all  take 
upon  himself.  The  thoughts  and  assurances  which  the 
gospel  provides  are  the  first  and  the  last  thing,  and 
every  soul  is  directly  arraigned  before  them.  .  .  . 

His  death  had  the  value  of  an  expiatory  sacrifice, 
for  otherwise  it  would  not  have  had  strength  to  pene- 
trate into  that  inner  world  in  which  the  blood-sacrifices 
originated:  but  it  was  not  a  sacrifice  in  the  same  sense 
as  the  others,  or  else  it  could  not  have  put  an  end  to 
them:  it  suppressed  them  by  settling  accounts  with 
them.  Nay,  we  may  go  further :  the  validity  of  all  ma- 
terial sacrifices  was  destroyed  by  Christ's  death.  Wher- 
ever individual  Christians  or  whole  churches  have  re- 
turned to  them,  it  has  been  a  relapse.  The  earliest  Chris- 
tians knew  that  the  whole  sacrificial  system  was  thence- 
forth abolished,  and  if  they  asked  for  a  reason,  they 
pointed  to  Christ  and  his  death.  .  .  .  Any  one  who  will 
look  into  history  will  find  that  the  sufferings  of  the  pure 
and  the  just  are  its  saving  element;  that  is  to  say,  that 

[352] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

it  is  not  words,  but  deeds,  and  not  deeds  only,  but  self- 
sacrificing  deeds,  and  not  only  self-sacrificing  deeds,  but 
the  surrender  of  life  itself,  that  forms  the  turning- 
point  in  every  great  advance.  .  .  .  No  reflection  of  the 
'reason,*  no  deliberation  of  the  'intelligence,'  will  ever 
be  able  to  expunge  from  the  moral  ideas  of  mankind 
the  conviction  that  injustice  and  sin  deserve  to  be  pun- 
ished, and  that  everywhere  that  the  just  man  suffers, 
an  atonement  is  made  which  puts  us  to  shame  and  puri- 
fies us.  It  is  a  conviction  which  is  impenetrable,  for 
it  comes  out  of  those  depths  in  which  we  feel  ourselves 
to  be  a  unity,  and  out  of  the  world  which  lies  behind  the 
world  of  phenomena.  .  .  . 

The  Easter  faith  is  the  conviction  that  the  crucified 
one  gained  a  victory  over  death;  that  God  is  just  and 
powerful;  that  he  who  is  the  first-born  among  many 
brethren  still  lives.  .  .  .  Whatever  may  have  happened 
at  the  grave  and  in  the  matter  of  the  appearances,  one 
thing  is  certain :  This  grave  was  the  birthplace  of  the  in- 
destructible belief  that  death  is  vanquished,  that  there 
is  a  life  eternal.  .  .  .  The  certainty  of  the  resurrection 
and  of  a  life  eternal  which  is  bound  up  with  the  grave 
in  Joseph's  garden  has  not  perished,  and  on  the  convic- 
tion that  Jesus  lives  we  still  have  those  hopes  of  citizen- 
ship in  an  eternal  city  which  make  our  earthly  life  worth 
living  and  tolerable.  *He  delivered  them  who  through 
fear  of  death  were  all  their  life  subject  to  bondage.' 
Wherever,  despite  all  the  weight  of  nature,  there  is  a 
strong  faith  in  the  infinite  value  of  the  soul;  wherever 
death  has  lost  its  terrors ;  wherever  the  sufferings  of  the 
present  are  measured  against  a  future  of  glory,  this 
feeling  of  life  is  bound  up  with  the  conviction  that  Jesus 
Christ  has  passed  through  death,  that  God  has  awakened 
him  to  life  and  glory.  What  else  can  we  believe  but 
that  the  earliest  disciples  also  found  the  ultimate  foun- 
dations of  their  faith  in  the  living  Lord  to  be  the  strength 
which  had  gone  out  from  him?  It  was  a  life  never  to 
be  destroyed  which  they  felt  to  be  going  out  from  him ; 

[353] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

only  for  a  brief  span  of  time  would  his  death  stagger 
them;  the  strength  of  the  Lord  prevailed  over  every- 
thing; God  did  not  give  him  over  unto  death;  he  lives 
as  the  firstfruits  of  them  that  have  fallen  asleep." 

From  such  thoughts  as  these  of  Harnaek  about 
some  of  the  main  doctrines  of  Christianity,  a  simple  for- 
mula to  unite  lay  people  might  be  devised,  leaving  them 
to  put  into  its  phrases  their  own  meaning,  or  the  mean- 
ing that  they  had  received  from  their  several  teachers. 
A  new  official  formula  for  the  clergy  is,  as  I  have  said, 
far  beyond  the  possibilities  of  the  present  generation: 
the  more  candidly  individual  members  of  the  churches 
agree  in  regard  to  what  are  the  less  essential  phrases 
and  articles  of  their  various  confessions,  so  much  the 
more  hope  will  there  be  for  ultimate  peace  and  truth. 


[S54] 


GERALD    BIRNEY    SMITH,    D.D., 

CHICAGO^   ILL. 

Professor  of  systematic  theology  at  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago; born  at  Middlefield,  Mass.,  May  3,  1868;  studied  at 
Brown  and  Columbia  Universities,  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  and  at  the  Universities  of  Berlin,  Marburg,  and 
Paris;  ordained  to  the  Baptist  ministry,  1902;  tutor  in 
Latin,  Oberlin  Academy,  1891-92;  instructor  in  mathemat- 
ics and  modern  languages,  Worcester  Academy,  1892-95; 
instructor  in  systematic  theology,  1900-4,  and  assistant 
professor  1904-6,  and  associate  professor,  1906-13,  at  the 
University  of  Chicago;  author  of  Practical  Theology;  Bib' 
lical  Conception  of  Atonement  (with  E.  D.  Burton  and  J. 
M.  Powis  Smith) ;  Social  Idealism  and  the  Changing 
Theology. 

THE   PRESENT  RELIGIOUS   SITUATION 

In  asking  why  so  many  men  to-day  are  indifferent  to 
the  claims  of  the  Church,  we  should  first  of  all  remem- 
ber that  those  claims  have  been  strikingly  modified  in 
modern  times.  Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  there  was 
developed  the  ideal  of  a  church-controlled  civilization. 
Consequently  the  claims  of  the  Church  formerly  cov- 
ered practically  all  realms  of  human  enterprise.  To 
be  excommunicated  from  the  Church  meant  ostracism 
from  society.  To  engage  in  any  activity  for  the  benefit 
of  mankind  meant  to  cooperate  with  the  Church.  Dur- 
ing the  past  two  or  three  centuries,  however,  we  have 
developed  secular  means  of  promoting  human  welfare. 
Many  of  the  benevolent  and  charitable  enterprises  which 
were  formerly  administered  by  the  Church  are  now 
given  over  to  secular  organizations.  One's  service  to 
his  fellow-men  may  therefore  be  rendered  through  chan- 

IS55  2 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

nels  which  do  not  lead  to  the  Church.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible for  a  man  to  find  such  abundant  opportunity  for 
moral  and  spiritual  achievement  in  these  secular  enter- 
prises that  he  is  not  conscious  of  needing  any  additional 
realm  for  activity  such  as  the  Church  might  supply. 
There  are  unquestionably  many  men  of  whom  this  is 
true. 

Now  to  a  man  who  is  thus  interested  in  the  actual 
moral  tasks  of  humanity,  the  creeds  of  the  Church  seem 
to  be  lacking  in  the  emphasis  which  he  approves.  It  is 
recognized  to-day  by  historians  that  Christianity  arose 
in  a  decadent  age,  when  no  confidence  was  felt  in  secular 
forces.  The  idealists  were  looking  for  a  new  age  which 
was  to  supersede  the  present  order.  Religion  naturally 
attached  itself  to  the  ideal  values  of  that  "other"  world 
rather  than  to  the  social  and  ethical  forces  of  this  world. 
Christian  doctrine  thus  consisted  in  statements  concern- 
ing the  way  of  redemption  out  of  this  evil  world;  and 
the  creeds  of  early  Christianity  were  concerned  with  the 
mysteries  connected  with  this  redemption.  Let  one 
read  the  Apostles'  Creed  or  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  note 
the  almost  total  absence  of  emphasis  on  the  ethical  and 
social  aspects  of  religion.  One  who  really  lives  in  the 
modern  world  and  draws  his  inspiration  from  the  splen- 
did opportunities  for  scientific  warfare  against  the  foes 
of  human  welfare  finds  in  these  ancient  creeds  almost 
no  direct  reinforcement  of  his  ideals.  If,  in  addition, 
he  contemplates  the  later  denominational  creeds,  born 
of  theological  controversy  over  issues  long  since  dead, 
he  is  likely  to  feel  that  in  as  far  as  the  Church  insists 
on  creed-subscription,  it  has  its  face  turned  toward  the 
past.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  strong  sentiment 
is  growing  toward  the  abandonment  of  those  items  in 

[356] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

creed  and  polity  which  absorb  so  much  time  and  energy 
in  outgrown  controversies. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Medieval  Church  undoubt- 
edly attracted  thousands  of  adherents  who  were  in  mor- 
tal terror  of  hell,  and  who  were  willing  to  pay  what- 
ever price  the  Church  demanded  in  return  for  the 
guarantee  of  salvation.  Now  in  so  far  as  the  more 
ethical  ideal  of  Christianity  comes  to  prevail,  the  Church 
ceases  to  guarantee  a  man's  salvation.  It  is  coming  to 
be  widely  believed  by  members  of  Protestant  churches 
that  no  one  is  saved  primarily  by  being  baptized  or  by 
receiving  the  sacraments  of  the  Church.  Salvation  must 
be  a  matter  of  ethical  and  spiritual  development  rather 
than  the  acceptance  of  supernatural  means  of  grace  in 
the  form  of  ritual  practises.  It  is  thus  possible  for  a 
man  to  be  saved  outside  the  Church. 

Why,  then,  does  a  modern  man  go  to  church?  In 
order  to  strengthen  the  inner  self  in  the  struggle  for  a 
spiritual  life.  Now  if  a  man  has  no  genuine  interest 
in  inner  spiritual  achievement,  if  his  only  thought  is  to 
get  his  soul  saved  by  the  ministrations  of  the  Church, 
such  a  man  will  naturally  decline  to  spend  his  time  and 
his  money  in  connection  with  a  church  which  does  not 
guarantee  his  salvation,  but  which,  on  the  contrary,  lays 
upon  him  heavy  moral  duties.  The  church  which  aban- 
dons the  sacramental  ideal,  giving  itself  consistently  to 
the  ideal  of  creating  personal  character  and  of  inspiring 
social  service  will,  of  course,  find  itself  forsaken  by  the 
not  inconsiderable  number  of  those  who  in  former  times 
regarded  the  Church  as  an  ark  of  salvation.  But  in  so 
far  as  this  is  true,  a  decline  in  membership  might  mean 
an  actual  gain  in  spiritual  strength. 

As  to  the  theology  of  a  modern  church,  this  question 

[  357  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

will  doubtless  take  care  of  itself,  as  it  always  has  in  the 
past.  Nothing  could  be  more  futile  than  to  attempt  to 
construct  a  logically  perfect  "system"  of  theology,  with 
the  idea  that  it  would  endure  forever.  Religious  life 
has  a  way  of  ignoring  official  statements  which  do  not 
actually  minister  to  life.  There  are  to-day  in  our  rituals 
and  our  creeds  statements  officially  valid,  but  actually 
dead  so  far  as  practical  usage  is  concerned.  After  they 
are  repeated  in  the  formal  service  they  pass  entirely  out 
of  consciousness  until  the  next  time  when  they  are  offi- 
cially promulgated.  Nobody  uses  the  content  of  the 
Athanasian  Creed  in  his  practical  religious  life.  No 
mother  or  teacher  actually  proceeds  on  the  assumptions 
of  the  Augustinian  and  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  human 
nature.  Intelligent  people  do  not  really  believe  that 
there  is  as  much  difference  between  a  baptized  and  an 
unbaptized  person  as  the  prayer-book  seems  to  imply. 
What  is  more,  the  spirit  of  freedom  is  coming  to  be  so 
widespread  that  if  a  member  of  a  church  disbelieves  in 
some  outgrown  tenet,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  so.  We 
are  coming  to  tolerate  a  variety  of  opinion  in  every 
communion  which  would  have  seemed  incredible  to  our 
fathers. 

The  next  step  is  not  a  difficult  one  to  take.  It  is  to 
carry  to  its  logical  conclusion  the  process  which  is  now 
going  on.  The  aspirations  and  convictions  of  our  actual 
religious  life  will  be  put  in  such  a  form  as  will  best  pro- 
mote that  life.  We  shall  not  attempt  to  impose  our 
creed  or  our  ritual  on  the  next  generation,  but  shall 
expect  a  living  religion  to  create  its  own  appropriate 
ways  of  stating  and  making  effective  its  fundamental 
principles.  There  cannot  be  such  a  thing  as  a  "final" 
theology;  for  human  life  never  reaches  its  "final"  de- 

[358] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

velopment.  But  there  can  be  a  theology  which,  just 
because  it  makes  no  claim  to  finality,  is  ever  in  quest  of 
better  ways  of  stating  the  inexhaustible  mystery  of  the 
life  of  man  in  relation  to  God. 

We  are  just  now  in  the  transition  period  between 
the  old  and  the  new.  We  are  trying  to  retain  the  older 
notion  of  infallibility,  while  continually  revising  the  fal- 
lible portions  of  what  ought  by  hypothesis  to  need  no 
revision.  When  once  we  come  to  feel  that  revision  is 
not  something  which  needs  apology,  but  is  rather  a  mark 
of  religious  advance,  the  time  will  have  come  when  any 
man  who  is  really  interested  in  the  religious  life  of  man- 
kind will  have  perfect  freedom  to  try  to  persuade  others 
to  his  way  of  thinking,  and  if  he  succeeds,  will  find  him- 
self contributing  to  the  actual  development  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  Abraham  Lincoln  of  to-morrow  will  find 
plenty  of  churches  where  he  can  find  a  home  and  a  wel- 
come. Probably  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
such  a  church  from  the  inside  would  give  to  him  a  more 
positive  appreciation  of  some  features  of  Christianity 
which  his  creed  failed  to  include. 


[359] 


JAMES   HENRY  SNOWDEN,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

PITTSBURGH,   PA. 

Editor-in-chief  of  The  Presbyterian  Banner  (Pittsburgh) 
since  1898;  born  at  Hookstown,  Pa.,  Oct.  18,  1852;  edu- 
cated at  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  and  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  Alleghany,  Pa.;  ordained  to  the 
Presbyterian  ministry,  1879;  has  held  pastorates  at  Hu- 
ron, O.,  1879-83;  Sharon,  Pa.,  1883-86;  Second  Presby- 
terian Church,  Washington,  Pa.,  1886-1911;  adjunct 
professor  of  political  economy  and  ethics,  Washington  and 
Jefferson  College,  1893-98;  professor  of  systematic  the- 
ology. Western  Theological  Seminary,  since  1911;  author 
of  Scenes  and  Sayings  in  the  Life  of  Christ;  A  Summer 
Across  the  Sea;  The  World  a  Spiritual  System — An  Out- 
line of  Metaphysics ;  The  Basal  Beliefs  of  Christianity, 

ALL    TRUTH    HARMONIOUS 

1.  I  DO  not  think  it  wise  "to  ask  the  great  majority  of 
people  to  subscribe  to  statements  that  deal  with  de- 
bated and  controversial  questions."  Few  churches  do 
this,  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  with  which  I  am  connected,  only  asks  of 
persons  applying  for  admission  to  its  membership  a 
credible  profession  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  All  truth  is  harmonious  and  coheres  into  a  sys- 
tem, and  therefore  "a  fundamental  theology  of  the 
Church"  must  "be  related  to  the  literary,  scientific,  and 
philosophical  certainties  of  our  time"  and  cannot  "be 
unassailable  and  final"  if  it  "does  not  accord  with  the 
assured  results  of  science."  It  is  also  "true  that  a  mes- 
sage to  be  effective  must  stand  for  and  teach  those  things 
that  constitute  the  sum  total  of  the  values  of  human  life, 
whatever  their  source  may  be."    However,  these  state- 

[360] 


Scott  Wearing 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ments  are  little  more  than  truisms,  and  the  question  must 
always  be  determined  what  are  "the  assured  results  of 
science"  and  what  are  "those  things  that  constitute  the 
sum  total  of  the  values  of  human  life."  "The  assured 
results  of  science"  cannot  conflict  with  the  assured  re- 
sults of  theology,  because  science  deals  only  with  phe- 
nomena, and  theology  along  with  philosophy  goes  back 
of  phenomena  into  their  ultimate  cause  and  nature. 
Yet  conflict  has  arisen  between  these  two  departments 
of  knowledge  because  scientists  sometimes  go  outside  of 
their  province  and  begin  to  speak  with  an  air  of  author- 
ity on  questions  of  philosophy  and  theology,  and  theo- 
logians sometimes  unwisely  take  alarm  at  the  proper 
conclusions  of  science,  and  combat  them  only  to  be  de- 
feated. Theology  should  be  based  only  on  truth  and 
on  truth  from  any  and  all  sources,  and  it  should  there- 
fore be  hospitable  toward  the  "assured  results"  of  study 
in  all  fields  of  knowledge  and  to  all  the  "things  that  con- 
stitute the  sum  total  of  the  values  of  human  life."  It 
must  be  admitted  that  theologians  have  often  mis- 
takenly opposed  the  results  of  science,  which  afterward 
they  were  forced  to  accept,  and  have  thus  alienated  men 
of  science  and  culture,  but  there  has  been  a  marked  im- 
provement in  this  respect.  Theology  is  now,  more  than 
formerly,  using  all  the  results  of  knowledge  and  all  the 
values  of  life  to  illustrate  its  own  teaching  and  to  reflect 
the  Light  of  the  world. 


rs6i] 


THEODORE    GERALD    SOARES, 
Ph.D.,  D.D., 

CHICAGO^   ILL. 

Professor  of  homiletics  and  religious  education  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  since  1908;  born  at  Abridge,  Essex, 
England,  Oct.  1,  1869;  studied  at  the  Universities  of  Min- 
nesota and  Chicago;  ordained  to  the  Baptist  ministry, 
1894f;  pastor  at  Rockford,  111.,  1894-99,  Galesburg,  1899- 
1902,  Oak  Park,  1902-5;  university  extension  lecturer  on 
biblical  literature  at  the  University  of  Chicago,  1899-1905; 
professor  of  homiletics,  1 906-8;  author  of  The  Supreme 
Miracle,  and  Other  Sermons;  His  Life  Series;  Heroes  of 
Israel;  Lessons  from  the  Great  Teachers  (with  Lillian  M. 
Soares)  ;  A  Baptist  Manual. 

Christian  theology  is  an  interpretation  of  human  life 
and  of  the  universe  in  terms  of  those  values  which  have 
been  mediated  to  us  through  the  influence  of  the  per- 
sonality of  Jesus.  It  assumes  the  validity  of  religious 
experience,  of  the  feeling  of  values,  as  datum  in  its  in- 
terpretation. At  the  same  time  it  proceeds  on  the  basis 
of  the  acceptance  of  all  scientific  knowledge.  It  can 
never  have  even  an  attitude  of  suspicion  or  of  reluctant 
acceptance  of  the  assured  results  of  any  science.  As  it 
is  seeking  an  interpretation  of  the  cosmos,  it  must  gladly 
welcome  truth  from  every  source.  This  applies  to  phys- 
ical science  with  its  investigation  of  the  material  uni- 
verse, to  psychology  with  its  study  of  even  the  religious 
experiences  themselves,  to  biblical  science  with  its  criti- 
cal examination  of  the  literature  and  history  of  the  Bible, 
to  the  science  of  the  history  of  religion  with  its  determi- 
nation of  the  course  of  the  historical  evolution  of  relig- 
ious ideas  and  institutions. 

[  362  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

It  follows  that  theology  must  move  forward  with 
these  and  other  sciences,  and  must  be  open  to  constant 
reconstruction  as  human  knowledge  advances.  The 
Church,  therefore,  must  make  her  tests  of  membership 
in  terms  of  religious  feeling  and  of  life,  and  not  in  terms 
of  doctrinal  statement,  about  which  there  may  easily  be 
difference  of  opinion,  and  which  in  its  very  nature  is 
open  to  constant  change. 


[363] 


JAMES    STALKER,   D.D„ 

ABERDEEN^   SCOTLAND 

Professor  of  church  history  in  the  United  Free  Churcli 
College,  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  since  1902;  born  at  Crieff, 
Feb.  21,  1848;  educated  at  the  Universities  of  Edinburgh, 
Halle,  and  Berlin,  and  at  New  College,  Edinburgh;  min- 
ister of  St.  Brycedale  Church,  Kirkcaldy,  1874;  St. 
Matthew's,  Glasgow,  1887;  was  Lyman  Beecher  lecturer 
at  Yale  University,  1891,  Cunningham  lecturer  at  Edin- 
burgh, 1899,  and  Gay  lecturer  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  1904; 
author  of  The  Life  of  Jesus  Christ;  The  Life  of  St.  Paul; 
Imago  Christi;  The  Preacher  and  His  Models;  The  Two 
St.  Johns;  The  Four  Men;  The  Christology  of  Jesus;  The 
Seven  Deadly  Sins;  The  Seven  Cardinal  Virtues;  John 
Knox,  His  Ideas  and  Ideals;  Three  Lectures  on  the  Atone- 
ment; The  Ethic  of  Jesus. 

It  would  lend  variety  to  the  symposium  if  those  invited 
to  take  part  in  it  were  to  speak  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  countries  in  which  they  live  or  the  churches  to  which 
they  belong.  At  all  events  I  deliberately  adopt  this 
limitation,  and  speak  as  belonging  to  the  United  Free 
Church  of  Scotland. 

Being  Presbyterian,  this  church  does  not  impose  on 
its  ordinary  members  subscription  to  any  creed  what- 
ever, and,  therefore,  does  not  come  within  the  sweep  of 
Abraham  Lincoln's  challenge;  although  I  may  perhaps 
be  allowed  to  express,  in  passing,  a  doubt  whether  per- 
sons keeping  away  from  the  membership  of  the  Church 
for  the  reason  stated  by  Lincoln  really  know  their  own 
mind.  If  this  reason  for  not  joining  the  Church  were 
taken  away,  I  suspect  that  most  of  them  would  have  no 
difficulty  in  finding  another. 

A  prominent  feature  of  the  early  history  of  the 

[364] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

branch  of  the  Church  to  which  I  belong  has  an  impor- 
tant practical  bearing  on  the  question  of  creeds.  This 
is  the  Sustentation  Fund,  devised  by  Dr.  Chalmers  just 
when  the  Church  broke  away  from  the  State  in  1843. 
So  successful  did  it  prove,  in  evoking  liberality  and 
teaching  the  strong  to  assist  the  weak,  that  it  has  at- 
tracted not  only  observation  but  imitation  in  all  quar- 
ters of  the  Christian  world.  At  one  time,  when  there 
was  serious  talk  of  adapting  it  to  the  use  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  England,  an  eminent  and  saga- 
cious minister  of  that  body,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Allon, 
of  London,  confided  to  me  that  there  was  one  difficulty 
which  could  not  be  overcome.  People  would  never,  he 
said,  give  on  such  a  scale  without  a  guarantee,  such  as 
is  secured  by  subscription  to  a  creed,  that  the  doctrines 
for  the  diffusion  of  which  they  were  paying  were  the 
truths  which  they  themselves  believed. 

It  is  not,  however,  by  intellectual  reasons,  even 
though  they  be  as  practical  as  this  one,  that  creeds  hold 
sway  over  those  who  make  use  of  them,  but  by  the  force 
of  tradition.  Confessions  of  faith,  for  the  most  part, 
came  into  existence  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation; 
and  they  did  so  not  arbitrarily  but  providentially.  A 
Church  did  not  say.  Come,  let  us  make  a  creed;  but 
circumstances  demanded  a  creed,  both  to  testify  what 
the  Church  believed  and  to  oppose  what  it  denied.  This 
element  of  witness-bearing  for  the  truth  exerts  a  strong 
influence  over  minds  that  have  any  conception  of  his- 
tory; and  a  church  does  not  easily  recede  from  attain- 
ments it  has  once  made.  The  virtue,  however,  of  this 
use  of  creeds  is  most  manifest  in  catechisms,  which  are 
the  creeds  of  the  young.  It  is  difficult  to  overestimate 
the  value  of  a  good  catechism  for  a  growing  mind. 

[  365  ] 


THE  CHUKCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  most  questionable  use  of  creeds  is  when  they  are 
made  tests  of  orthodoxy  and  imposed  on  the  office- 
bearers of  a  church.  In  my  opinion,  this  can  be  justified 
only  if  the  right  and  duty  of  a  church  to  change  its  creed 
be  both  acknowledged  and^  at  proper  intervals,  acted 
upon.  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  changed 
its  creed  entirely  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, when  it  exchanged  the  creed  written  for  it  by  John 
Knox  in  1560  for  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  West- 
minster Divines.  By  the  device  of  Declaratory  Acts, 
embodying  far-reaching  modifications  of  the  West- 
minster Confession,  both  the  denominations  now  form- 
ing the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland  had  virtually 
altered  their  creed  before  their  union  in  1900;  and  it  is 
no  secret  that,  in  the  negotiations  for  union  now  going 
on  between  this  body  and  the  Church  of  Scotland,  it 
is  recognized  on  both  sides — though  not  unanimously 
on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  Scotland — that  the  Church 
of  the  future  must  have  power  to  alter  its  creed  when- 
ever it  may  think  proper. 

The  disposition  to  do  so  is  not  infrequently  strong- 
est in  minds  least  fitted  for  the  delicate  task;  and  it  is 
obvious  that,  in  a  period  of  spiritual  decline,  vast 
changes  might  be  lightly  undertaken  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  religion;  but  I  regret  that  the  generation  of 
•Chalmers,  when  there  was  so  profound  a  revival  of  faith 
and  spirituality,  did  not  add  this  to  its  other  labors; 
and  a  church  can  never  abdicate  the  obligation  to  make 
the  attempt,  should  a  providential  call  arise,  without  for- 
feiting its  loyalty  to  the  Spirit  of  truth. 

Into  the  question  of  the  truths  to  be  admitted  into  a 
creed  I  will  not  further  go,  in  spite  of  your  invitation  to 
discuss  this  also;  but,  as  I  hold  that  the  creed  ought  to 

[366] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

be  the  Church's  joyful  confession  of  its  present  faith, 
it  is  obvious  that,  in  my  view,  there  ought  to  enter  into 
it  the  Church's  convictions  on  the  living  issues  of  the 
age,  as  far  as  these  are  mature  and  unanimous. 


1367] 


JOSIAH  STRONG,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

NEW   YORK^   N.   Y. 

President  of  the  American  Institute  of  Social  Service  since 
1898;  born  at  Napierville,  111.,  Jan.  19,  1847;  educated  at 
Western  Reserve  College,  and  at  Lane  Theological  Semi- 
nary, Cincinnati,  Ohio;  ordained  to  the  Congregational 
ministry,  1871 ;  home  missionary  at  Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  1871- 
73 ;  instructor  in  natural  theology  and  chaplain  in  Western 
Reserve  College,  1873-76;  pastor  at  Sandusky,  Ohio,  1876- 
81;  secretary  of  the  Ohio  Home  Missionary  Society, 
1881-84;  pastor  in  Cincinnati,  1884-86;  secretary  of  the 
Evangelical  Alliance,  1886-98;  author  of  Our  Country; 
The  New  Era;  The  Twentieth  Century  City;  Religious 
Movements  for  Social  Betterment;  Expansion;  The  Times 
and  Young  Men;  The  Next  Great  Awakening ;  The  Chal- 
lenge of  the  City;  My  Religion  in  Every-Day  Life;  Our 
World,  the  New  World-Life;  editor  of  Social  Progress  for 
1904-6;  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  since  1908. 

You  ask:  "Why  is  it  that  there  are  so  many  persons 
who  are  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  Church?" 

For  nineteen  hmidred  years  there  have  been  many 
who  were  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  Church  be- 
cause they  were  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  God.  But 
when  for  half  a  century  and  more  there  is  a  steady 
decrease  in  the  Church's  rate  of  gain  on  the  popula- 
tion, and  a  decreasing  hold  on  the  common  people,  it 
is  evident  that  there  is  at  work  some  cause  other  than 
any  to  be  found  among  the  common  and  historic  char- 
acteristics of  human  nature,  and  your  question  becomes 
altogether  pertinent. 

Occidental  civilization  as  compared  with  oriental  is 
based  on  an  individualistic  theory  of  life.  As  we  all 
know,  the  tyranny  of  Church  and  State  in  the  eighteenth 
century  created  a  reaction  against  all  authority  and  pre- 

[  368  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE.  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

pared  the  way  for  the  French  Revolution.  The  in- 
tensely individualistic  teachings  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
and  other  Encyclopedists  deeply  influenced  European, 
and  especially  American,  thinking.  Accordingly  our 
law,  our  religion,  our  ethics,  our  economics,  our  politics 
have  all  been  based  on  an  individualistic  philosophy  of 
life ;  and  this  is  especially  true  of  our  religion  which  re- 
ceived a  deep  individualistic  stamp  at  the  time  of  the 
German  Reformation. 

The  industrial  revolution,  however,  is  creating  a  new 
and  radically  different  civilization,  which  multiplies  a 
thousandfold  men's  relations  to  one  another;  that  is  to 
say,  the  new  civilization  is  preeminently  social,  and  the 
new  problems  are  social  problems.  It  is  found  as  a 
matter  of  experience  that  the  laws,  ethics,  economics, 
and  politics  of  our  fathers  are  to-day  unequal  to  solving 
the  new  problems  of  the  new  civilization,  and  this  mal- 
adjustment is  rapidly  driving  us  toward  a  great  crisis. 
The  prevailing  interpretation  of  religion,  which  is  dis- 
tinctly individualistic,  is  equally  out  of  harmony  with 
the  new  social  spirit. 

Of  course  it  is  always  the  privileged  classes  who  cling 
to  existing  conditions  and  resist  innovations,  and  it  is 
the  unprivileged  who  furnish  most  of  the  discontented 
and  revolutionary  element.  It  is  this  latter  class — the 
so-called  conmion  people — among  whom  the  new  social 
spirit  is  growing  most  rapidly,  and  this  is  precisely  the 
class  over  which  the  Church  has  increasingly  lost  her 
influence. 

Institutional  Christianity  is  now  on  trial,  and  only 
as  it  grasps  the  world-significance  of  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  and  applies  his  principles  to  the  solution  of  the 
great  world-problems  can  it  hope  to  survive.    The  social 

[369] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

interpretation  of  Christianity  will  have  the  double  ad- 
vantage of  being  true,  and  of  being  precisely  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  new  social  civilization.  When  the 
Church  has  been  thoroughly  socialized  it  will  rapidly 
recover  lost  ground  and  make  new  conquests. 

Again,  you  ask:  "What  should  be  the  basis  and  di- 
rection for  a  fundamental  theology  of  the  Church?"  It 
must  be  broad  enough  to  consist  with  all  truth  which  has 
been  or  which  may  be  established,  whether  scientific,  or 
philosophical,  or  historical.  It  must  not  conflict  with 
any  known  facts. 

Sir  William  Hamilton  said:  "Every  man  philos- 
ophizes well  or  ill,  but  philosophize  he  must."  Every 
man  has  his  own  philosophy  of  life  which  is  more  or  less 
completely  adjusted  to  the  facts  of  his  life.  It  was 
inevitable  that  the  individualistic  civilization  of  the  West 
should  result  in  a  popular  philosophy  of  life  and  in  an 
interpretation  of  Christianity  which  were  strongly  indi- 
vidualistic. The  new  civilization  is  distinctly  and  in- 
creasingly social.  It  has  radically  changed  the  condi- 
tions of  life,  and  is,  therefore,  radically  changing  the 
philosophy  of  life.  Before  the  incoming  current  of  the 
new  social  spirit  the  old  individualistic  philosophy  is 
being  swept  away,  and  has  become  impossible  to  every 
one  who  discerns  the  signs  of  the  times.  At  the  same 
time,  the  fact  of  great  and  pressing  social  problems 
which  shame  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  is  opening  the  eyes 
of  many  to  the  social  teachings  of  Jesus  which  the  in- 
dividualistic spirit  and  philosophy  could  not  discern,  or 
else  explained  away. 

It  is  now  seen  that  the  Christianity  of  Christ  is  not 
individualistic  but  social,  and  if  the  theology  which  is 
now  beginning  to  recrystallize  is  truly  Christian,  it  will 

[370] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

be  perfectly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  new  social  civili- 
zation, it  will  agree  perfectly  with  the  social  philosophy 
of  life  which  is  contained  in  the  Christianity  of  Christ, 
and  will  harmonize  with  the  facts  of  science  and  the 
established  truths  of  philosophy. 

Jesus's  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  what 
has  been  called  "Christian  Socialism,"  but  Social  Chris- 
tianity, which  is  a  very  different  thing,  and  which  is 
destructive  of  all  theologies,  all  philosophies  of  life,  and 
all  systems  of  society  which  are  individualistic  in  form 
or  spirit.  Social  Christianity  affords  a  germinal  prin- 
ciple, capable  of  assimilating  all  the  elements  of  truth 
in  disintegrating  systems  of  the  past,  and  of  producing 
a  vital  and  progressive  theology.  We  expect  all  other 
sciences  to  grow,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  general  con- 
viction that  a  system  of  theology  is  final,  if  true  (and 
of  course  every  man  thinks  his  own  is  true),  because  it 
is  based  on  a  closed  revelation;  hence  the  reluctance  of 
theologians  to  modify  their  views.  But  when  we  recog- 
nize an  immanent  God,  organizing  the  world  into  his 
kingdom,  then  all  things  animate  and  inanimate  are 
seen,  like  the  Scriptures,  to  contain  a  revelation  of  him, 
and  all  natural  laws  are  seen  to  be  God's  laws.  Thus 
science  becomes  a  revelation  of  the  divine  method  as  the 
kingdom  is  a  revelation  of  the  divine  aim ;  and  theology, 
being  based  on  a  progressive  revelation,  would  itself 
become  progressive. 

As  to  conditions  of  church  membership,  let  us  go 
back  to  "the  simplicity  which  is  in  Christ."  Absolute 
loyalty  to  him  is  the  one  condition  of  true  discipleship 
now  as  it  was  when  the  apostles  left  all  and  followed 
him. 

[371] 


MILTON  SPENCER  TERRY,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

EVANSTON^   ILL. 

Professor  of  Christian  doctrine,  Garrett  Biblical  Institute, 
Northwestern  University,  Evanston,  111.,  since  1884;  born 
near  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  22,  1840;  studied  at  Charlotte- 
ville  Seminary,  Troy  University,  Yale  Divinity  School,  and 
the  University  of  Berlin,  Germany;  pastor  of  Methodist 
Episcopal  Churches  in  New  York,  1863-84;  author  of  The 
Commentary  on  the  Old  Testament,  Volumes  I,  III  and 
IV;  Biblical  Hermeneutics;  The  Sibylline  Oracles; 
Prophecies  of  Daniel  Expounded;  The  Song  of  Songs 
Analyzed,  Translated,  and  Explained;  Rambles  in  the  Old 
World;  The  New  Apologetic;  Biblical  Apocalyptics; 
Moses  and  the  Prophets;  The  New  and  Living  Way;  The 
Mediation  of  Jesus  Christ;  Primer  of  Christian  Doctrine; 
Biblical  Dogmatics;  The  Shinto  Cult, 

There  are  many  great  churches  that  are  very  efficient, 
and  they  command  the  admiration  of  good  men  every- 
where. Abraham  Lincoln  expressed  his  devout  thanks 
to  Almighty  God,  who  in  the  hour  of  our  nation's  peril 
gave  him  the  support  and  the  prayers  of  the  churches. 
And  yet  he  could  not  conscientiously  subscribe  to  the 
tests  of  membership  required  as  a  rule  in  the  great 
ecclesiastical  communions.  But  creed,  cult,  and  conduct 
seem  essential  to  any  efficiently  organized  form  of  re- 
ligious activity.  For  how  can  a  goodly  company  walk 
together  unless  they  are  agreed?  The  existence  of  many 
Christian  churches  of  as  many  different  names  and 
claims  is  a  standing  witness  of  the  existence  of  so  many 
different  beliefs,  customs,  tastes,  and  ideals  of  Christian 
life  and  work.  Some  churches  make  their  conditions  of 
membership  quite  broad  and  easy,  while  others  maintain 
that  the  reasons  for  their  separate  existence  require  the 

[372] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

exclusion  of  all  who  will  not  accept  their  distinctive 
doctrines.  The  nine  doctrinal  statements  adopted  as 
a  basis  of  fellowship  and  cooperation  in  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  were  prepared  with  obvious  intention  to  ex- 
clude the  Society  of  Friends  and  some  other  Christian 
denominations  not  deemed  sufficiently  orthodox  for  the 
purposes  of  that  great  federation  of  churches.  Judg- 
ing from  such  facts  of  the  past  and  the  present,  one 
finds  little  ground  for  hope  of  any  considerable  change 
in  the  near  future.  The  dogmatist  insists  on  his 
credenda,  and  the  ritualist  on  his  established  ministries 
and  functions  of  divine  authority.  And  some  of  the 
smallest  of  the  religious  bodies  exhibit  the  most  rigid 
exclusiveness.  In  Great  Britain  and  Europe  the  prom- 
inent church  organizations  are  more  hopelessly  sep- 
arated than  in  America.  What  change  can  be  reason- 
ably expected  for  generations  to  come  in  the  relations  of 
the  Roman,  Greek,  Anglican  and  various  Protestant 
communions? 

The  authority  and  claims  of  any  or  all  of  these 
churches  have  no  appreciable  influence  on  modern  sci- 
entific research.  Such  research  is  sure  to  go  on  tri- 
umphantly, whatever  the  Church  or  the  churchman 
may  say  or  do.  But  the  general  tendency  of  the  Church 
is  to  encourage  science  and  learning.  The  compelling 
of  a  modern  Galileo  to  abjure  his  wonderful  discoveries 
on  bended  knees  before  an  ecclesiastical  inquisition  is 
unthinkable.  The  whole  material  world  has  been  found 
to  be  alive  with  electric  energy,  and  human  intelligence 
and  invention  are  making  the  latent  forces  subservient 
to  our  advancing  civilization.  We  are  getting  better 
acquainted  every  day  with  the  peoples  of  the  wide  world. 
A  deeper  and  broader  knowledge  of  religious  cults, 

[373] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ancient  and  modern,  has  enhanced  the  significance  of 
what  an  apostle  long  ago  declared,  that  God  has  not 
left  himself  without  witness  among  any  of  the  nations. 
The  World-Parliament  of  Religions,  held  in  Chicago 
in  1893,  probably  made  a  profounder  impression  upon 
thousands  of  thoughtful  people  inside  and  outside  the 
Christian  churches  than  any  ecclesiastical  council  ever 
held  in  Christendom.  It  assumed  no  authority,  put 
forth  no  churchly  claims,  but  it  emphasized  the  religious 
element  in  all  mankind,  and  commanded  world-wide  ad- 
miration. But  it  was  criticized  by  prominent  men  of 
various  churches,  who  refused  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  it. 

Meanwhile  chairs  of  comparative  religion  have  been 
established  in  our  theological  schools  and  universities. 
Oriental  mystics  and  prophets  of  Mazdaism  and  of 
Islam  have  appeared  among  us  and  have  met  with 
generous  welcome,  and  sundry  theosophical  societies 
have  been  organized  in  various  parts  of  our  country. 
The  remarkable  growth  of  the  Christian  Science  cult 
has  also  attracted  wide  attention.  Many  run  to  and  fro 
among  these  new  religionists,  and  would  seem  to  be  very 
much  like  the  men  of  Athens  and  the  strangers  so- 
journing there  in  Paul's  day,  who  had  leisure  for  little 
else  than  for  hearing  and  talking  about  some  last  new 
thing.  All  this  may  be  the  sign  of  great  religious  un- 
rest, but  it  reveals  a  noteworthy  situation,  and  cannot  be 
ignored  when  we  inquire  into  the  alleged  failure  of  the 
Christian  churches  to  secure  the  fellowship  of  thousands 
of  our  excellent  citizens. 

It  should  be  observed  also  that  most  of  the  great 
labor  organizations  of  our  time,  for  reasons  of  their  own, 
seem  to  feel  and  act  as  if  the  churches  had  no  sympathy 

[  374  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

with  their  struggle  against  the  grasping  corporations  of 
plutocracy.  Nor  should  we  omit  reference  to  that  vast 
multitude,  who,  in  their  gratification  of  personal  pleas- 
ures, disregard  all  church  obligations,  and  give  them- 
selves over  to  club  life,  the  golf  ground,  the  automobile 
craze,  and  the  gay  Sunday  excursion.  With  many,  if 
not  most  of  these,  creed  and  cult  and  conduct  are  no 
serious  concern.  In  view  of  all  these  facts  it  certainly 
behooves  the  leaders  of  the  churches  to  see  to  it  that 
they  do  not  build  on  the  foundation  of  Jesus  Christ 
structures  of  wood  and  hay  and  stubble,  but  rather  of 
gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones. 

It  is  to  be  assumed  that  all  Christian  churches  hold 
Christianity  to  be  the  final  and  supreme  religion  of  man- 
kind. It  is  as  truly  the  fulfilling  of  all  the  ethnic  cults 
of  the  past  as  it  is  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  of  Israel. 
Have  we  been  so  long  time  familiar  with  the  teaching 
of  Jesus  and  are  yet  slow  to  perceive  that  the  essence 
of  his  religion  requires  but  few  words  for  its  most  fun- 
damental and  comprehensive  expression?  His  conden- 
sation of  the  whole  law  and  the  prophets  into  two  com- 
mandments of  love,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  taught 
his  disciples  to  pray  suggest  a  corresponding  confession 
of  faith,  which  can  have  no  conflict  with  assured  results 
of  science,  and  would  be  in  itself  so  simple  and  authori- 
tative as  to  meet  Abraham  Lincoln's  desire  for  a  church 
of  the  living  God  without  offensive  shibboleths.  Such 
a  creed,  I  think,  may  be  found  by  combining  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Lord's  prayer  with  his  two  great  com- 
mandments. Here  we  have,  in  hallowed  and  familiar 
words,  a  confession  of  faith  which  is  at  once  a  funda- 
mental theology  and  an  ecumenical  creed.  It  may  be 
called  "the  Lord's  Creed"  with  as  much  propriety  as 

[375] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

his  great  Pater  Noster  is  called  "the  Lord's  Prayer." 
What  more  should  any  church  require  for  a  basis  of  holy 
fellowship  and  of  all  good  works? 

I  believe  in  our  heavenly  Father,  who  loves  us  and 
gives  us  our  daily  bread  and  all  good  things,  and  who 
forgives  us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors. 

I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  who  gave  his  life  for  others, 
preached  a  coming  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness 
and  peace,  and  bade  us  love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all 
the  heart,  and  love  our  neighbor  as  ourself . 

I  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  who 
helps  us  in  our  trials,  delivers  us  from  evil,  leads  into 
all  truth,  and  works  in  us  to  do  the  will  of  God  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 


[376] 


JHR.  BERNARD  HENDRIK  CORNELIS 
KAREL  VAN  DER  WYCK,  LL.D.,  L.H.D., 

UTRECHT^     HOLLAND 

Professor  emeritus  of  philosophy  in  the  University  of 
Utrecht  since  1906;  born  in  Gorinchem,  March  30,  1836; 
studied  at  the  University  of  Utrecht,  from  which  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  L.H.D.  in  1869;  professor  of  phil- 
osophy at  the  University  of  Groningen,  1863-1890;  Uni- 
versity of  Utrecht,  1890-1906;  member  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Amsterdam,  1869;  author  of  Origin 
and  Limits  of  Knowledge;  Psychology ;  The  Enigma  of 
Experience;  and  works  on  J.  J,  Rousseau;  Voltaire;  Pro- 
fessor Frazer's  Edition  of  Berkeley;  Fichte;  Spinoza; 
Opzoomer;  Giordano  Bruno;  Nietzsche,  and  Schopenhauer, 

"His  ignorance  is  most  remarkable.  Except  some 
facts  of  Jesus'  exterior  life,  the  escape  to  Egypt  on 
a  donkey's  back,  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves  at  the 
wedding  of  Cana  (sic),  the  expelling  of  the  money 
changers  out  of  the  temple,  some  exorcisms,  he  knows 
absolutely  nothing  about  the  four  gospels,  but  he  ad- 
mires them  nevertheless  most  sincerely.  About  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  he  is  not  better  informed  than  about 
the  logic  of  Hegel.  For  his  acquaintance  with  the  Old 
Testament  he  is,  I  presume,  all  indebted  to  some  oleo- 
graphs representing  Noah's  Ark,  Samson  carrying 
away  the  gates  of  (Jaza,  Judith  dancing  to  Holo- 
femes." 

In  this  malicious  way  the  Portuguese  E9a  de  Queiros 
gives  us  an  idea  of  the  learning  of  one  of  his  friends,  who 
is  a  priest  in  Lisbon,  and  unconsciously  he  discloses  at 
the  same  time  a  gap  in  his  own  biblical  erudition.  The 
English  and  also  the  Dutch  people  are  deeply  versed 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  doubtless  owe  to  their  intimacy 

[377] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

with  the  Bible  a  great  deal  of  their  energy.  Nothing 
is  more  common  in  one  of  those  countries  than  to  hear 
from  the  lips  of  a  plain  man  or  woman  a  saying  of 
Isaiah  or  a  verse  from  the  Psalms  that  makes  the  soul 
soar  aloft  and  enables  one  to  face  the  adversities  of  life. 
There  the  Bible  is  the  most  popular  book  and  in  a  high 
degree  the  educator  of  nearly  all  classes  of  society. 

Nevertheless  the  right  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures requires  very  often  a  great  deal  of  professional 
learning.  It  wo.uld  be  unreasonable  to  expect  that  as  a 
rule  a  clergyman  acquires  in  the  long  run  all  the  infor- 
mation needed  for  biblical  interpretation.  The  minister 
of  a  parish  has  not  only  to  preach,  but  also  to  visit  the 
sick,  to  instruct  the  young,  to  bury  the  dead,  to  relieve 
the  poor,  to  counsel,  to  mediate,  to  admonish ;  the  duties 
of  his  calling  are  so  multifarious  that  it  is  often  a  sheer 
impossibility  for  him  to  spend  each  day  a  couple  of 
hours  among  his  books.  He  would  have  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  avail  himself  of  all  the  resources  that  modern 
science  puts  at  his  disposition  if  his  Sunday  task  were 
to  explain  a  chapter  of  the  Bible;  but  unhappily  it 
is  the  custom  in  Holland  to  choose  a  single  verse  or 
part  of  it,  that  can  be  prefixed  as  a  motto  to  a 
bulky  sermon;  to  interpret  that  bit  of  a  verse  in  an 
arbitrary  way,  permitting  one  to  draw  from  a  small 
group  of  words  a  complete  system  of  doctrine  and  to 
expound  in  a  single  hour  all  that  the  conmiunity  is  sup- 
posed to  want  for  its  edification. 

There  is  perhaps  no  place  in  a  civilized  country, 
where  you  can  hear  more  nonsense  than  in  some  Chris- 
tian churches.  I  suppose  it  might  be  a  great  improve- 
ment if  young  clergymen,  who  are  without  a  large  ex- 
perience of  the  recesses  of  the  human  heart  and  are  not 

[378] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

able  theologians,  were  not  obliged  to  compose  for  every 
service  a  long  sermon.  There  are  many  good  printed 
sermons, — why  not  make  a  choice  out  of  them  and  con- 
sider it  a  privilege  for  a  few  very  able  parsons  to  deliver 
self-made  discourses?  In  this  manner  the  religious  of- 
fice would  be  more  palatable  to  persons  of  good  taste, 
who  want  nourishment  for  their  inner  life. 

The  incongruity  between  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
Christ  himself  and  that  of  his  apostles  of  later  times  is 
often  shocking  to  clear-headed  and  really  pious  people. 
Everybody  knows  that  Lucretius,  in  his  great  poem, 
admitted  a  chasm  between  what  he  called  religion  and 
what  we  would  rather  call  superstition — ^gloomy,  life- 
embittering,  crime-fostering  superstition — on  one  side, 
and  sweet,  elevating  piety  on  the  other.  Now  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  piety  of  the  average  Christians  cannot  be 
pure  and  fosters  a  supplement  of  superstition.  They 
are  convinced  that  nothing  but  the  blood  of  the  holy  Son 
of  God  can  atone  for  the  sins  of  Adam's  progeniture. 
If  it  had  been  Jesus's  belief  that  the  Father  in  heaven 
in  his  wrath  wanted  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  an  inno- 
cent head  before  he  could  forgive  the  follies  and  crimes 
of  poor  humanity,  Jesus  never  would  have  uttered  the 
parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  his  attitude  toward  the 
adulteress  would  have  been  quite  different.  Nowadays 
there  are  many  people  who  can  accept  only  a  message 
standing  for  all  the  spiritual  values  of  life.  Therefore 
it  would  be  advisable  to  choose  the  largest  possible  basis 
for  the  theology  of  the  Church  and  to  admit  as  members 
all  those  who  can  approve  the  Saviour's  statement  of  the 
substance  of  both  law  and  gospel:  "Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul 
and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 

[  379  ] 


PHILIP   VOLLMER,   Ph.D.,   D.D., 

DAYTON^  OHIO 

Professor  of  the  New  Testament,  Ursinus  School  of  The- 
ology, Philadelphia;  and  at  Central  Theological  Seminary 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States,  Dayton,  Ohio, 
since  1898;  born  at  Frankenthal,  in  the  Palatinate,  Ger- 
many, Nov.  28,  I860;  received  his  early  education  in  Ger- 
many; graduated  from  Bloomfield  College,  1881;  Bloom- 
field  Presbyterian  Seminary,  1884;  took  graduate  courses 
in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  1885,  and  in 
the  universities  of  Pennsylvania,  1891-93,  Heidelberg,  Ger- 
many, 1895,  and  Strassburg,  Germany,  1906;  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Peace,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  1884- 
1889;  St.  Paul's  Reformed  Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1889- 
1905;  author  of  The  Heidelberg  Catechism  Analysed;  The 
Old  Testament  and  Social  Reform;  The  Dialectical  Method 
of  Socrates;  Sound  Exegesis  the  Basis  of  Effective  Preach- 
ing; The  Inspirational  Value  of  the  Study  of  Church  His- 
tory; Life  of  John  Calvin;  The  Modern  Student's  Life  of 
Christ, 

I.  I  DO  not  think  it  wise  to  ask  candidates  for  admission 
to  church  membership  to  subscribe  to  long  complicated 
statements  of  Christian  doctrine  that  deal  with  debated 
and  controversial  questions,  for  the  reason  that  such  a 
practise  is  (1)  contrary  to  the  example  of  Christ  and 
the  apostolic  Church;  (2)  it  tends  to  keep  honest  doubt- 
ers from  joining  the  Church — people  who  may  be  ready 
and  willing  to  accept  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity, 
but  who  may  not  be  prepared  to  assent  to  inferences 
drawn  from  admitted  facts,  or  to  a  line  of  philosophical 
reasoning  underlying  a  certain  creed;  (3)  it  is  liable  to 
repulse  conscientious,  self-respecting,  and  cultured 
people,  who  may  have  had  neither  the  time,  nor  the 
opportunity,  nor  the  inclination  to  delve  into  all  the  hair- 

[380] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

splitting  theological  disquisitions  which  many  of  our 
old  creeds  contain;  (4)  it  breeds  insincerity  and  flip- 
pancy because  it  encourages  the  acceptance  of  sacred 
pledges  on  the  part  of  people  who  are  ignorant  of  the 
grave  import  of  them,  though  they  may  be  very  willing 
to  give  their  assent;  (5)  the  Church,  moreover,  has  no 
moral  right  to  lay  the  yoke  of  a  complicated  creed  upon 
the  neck  of  the  brethren  who  are  ethically  qualified  to 
join  the  Church,  because  only  a  small  proportion  of  the 
170,000  American  pastors  continues  the  time  honored, 
biblical  and  rational  custom  of  conducting  catechetical 
classes  in  which  the  creed  might  be  interpreted,  doubts 
dispelled,  pledges  explained,  difficulties  removed,  and 
confidence  inspired  by  long-continued  intercourse  be- 
tween the  pastor  and  the  candidate. 

The  first  of  the  reasons  stated  above  should  be  de- 
cisive with  all  who  accept  the  Bible  as  the  rule  of  faith 
and  practise.  The  gate  of  entrance  into  the  Church  of 
the  living  God  should  not  be  made  narrower  than  Christ 
and  his  apostles  made  it.  When  Peter  professed  his 
faith  in  Jesus  as  "the  Christ"  (Mark),  or  as  "the  Christ 
of  God"  (Luke),  or  as  "the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God" 
(Matthew) — all  three  phrases  being  equivalent  to  "Sav- 
iour" and  stressing  the  Lord's  office  rather  than  his 
nature — Jesus,  with  evident  joy  in  his  heart,  answered, 
"On  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,"  that  is,  "loyal 
hearts  and  true"  I  will  recognize  as  stones  which  are  to 
be  added  one  upon  another  in  the  erection  of  my  spirit- 
ual temple.  Peter  was  in  no  sense  constituted  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  Church — Christ  himself  occupies  this 
distinctive  place;  he  was  merely  declared  to  be  the  first 
real  Christian,  because  of  his  simple  profession  of  per- 
sonal loyalty  to  Jesus  as  the  Christ.    When,  on  the  day 

[381] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  Pentecost,  thousands  asked  of  Peter,  "What  shall  we 
do?"  the  man  of  rock,  remembering  the  Master's  dec- 
laration in  his  own  case,  answered,  "Repent  ye,  and  be 
baptized"  (Acts  2:  38),  i.e.,  undergo  a  religious  and 
ethical  change  in  heart  and  mind  by  accepting  Jesus  as 
the  Christ,  as  explained  in  my  sermon,  and  then  profess 
your  loyalty  before  men  by  submitting  to  the  symbol  of 
spiritual  and  moral  cleansing.  When  the  jailer  at 
Philippi  asked,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Paul 
answered,  "Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus"  (Acts  16:  30). 
Repent  and  believe  are  synonymous  terms,  sometimes 
used  together,  and  at  other  times  separately,  their 
ground  meaning  being  the  expression  of  loyal  adher- 
ence to  Jesus  and  of  an  ethical  change  in  correspondence 
with  the  spirit  of  Christ.  An  unprejudiced  study  of  the 
conditions  for  following  Christ,  as  demanded  in  the  New 
Testament,  will  conclusively  show  that  all  he  asked 
was  "to  learn  of  him"  to  be  a  disciple,  i.e.,  a  pupil.  Un- 
der the  Lord's  tutoring  they  would,  of  course,  make 
progress,  and  their  growth  in  grace  and  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  nature  of  Jesus  can  easily  be  traced  in 
the  New  Testament.  The  same  was  demanded  by  the 
apostles  and  the  first  missionaries.  They  were  stren- 
uously active  in  season  and  out  of  season,  by  preaching, 
conversation,  and  letters,  that  the  new  converts  "might 
know  the  certainty  concerning  the  things  wherein  they 
were  instructed"  (Luke  1:4).  But  the  entrance  con- 
ditions were  brief  in  bulk,  practical  in  nature,  and  un- 
iphilosophical  in  their  reasoning. 

As  the  New  Testament  is  the  admitted  standard  of 
the  Church,  she  also  should  principally  test  the  sin- 
cerity and  docility  of  the  person  asking  for  admission. 
The  schoolmaster  should  be  the  Church's  example.    All 

[382] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

he  asks  is  that  the  pupil  come  to  school,  submit  to  his 
guidance  and  be  willing  to  work.  This  is  enough  as  a 
beginning.  The  rest  follows  naturally  in  the  course  of 
time.  Line  upon  line,  precept  upon  precept,  promotion 
from  the  lower  to  the  higher  grade,  from  the  grammar 
school  to  the  high  school,  then  to  college,  and  finally  to 
the  university.  Now  he  can  read  his  diploma  in  Latin, 
he  knows  the  history  of  the  world,  and  is  prepared  to 
discuss  the  problems  of  science  and  philosophy.  What 
would  have  become  of  the  little  fellow,  if  the  primary 
teacher  had  required  the  attainments  of  the  mature 
student  as  a  condition  for  entrance  into  the  A  B  C 
class? 

In  the  preceding  discussion  we  have  assimied  that 
the  Church  of  to-day  does  require  "the  giving  of  assent 
to  long  complicated  statements  of  Christian  doctrine" 
as  a  condition  for  church  membership.  But  are  we  not 
begging  the  question?  Some  churches,  indeed,  have  gone 
far  beyond  Christ  and  his  apostles  in  their  requirements 
for  church  fellowship.  They  require  the  acceptance  of 
the  Apostles'  Creed  in  detail  and  a  few  still  retain  in 
their  formulae  of  admission  those  semi-pagan  remnants 
from  the  medieval  liturgies  about  renouncing  the  devil, 
and  other  unbiblical  and  worn-out  phrases.  Others  de- 
mand subscription  to  entire  catechisms  and  even  to  as- 
cetic rules  with  reference  to  things  ethically  indifferent, 
concerning  which  "Christ  alone  is  Lord  of  the  con- 
science," a  procedure  which  Jesus  and  Paul  denounced 
with  great  vehemence  (Mark  7:  1-23;  Col.  3:  16-23). 
A  few  denominations  forbid  voting  and  office-holding, 
others  denounce  officially  secret  societies,  and  some  com- 
munions regulate  the  outward  apparel,  the  style  of  hair- 
cutting,  and  the  wearing  of  beards.    But  the  overwhelm- 

[  383  1 


.  THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  majority  of  American  congregations — ^the  Congre- 
gational, Presbyterian,  Reformed,  and  others — adhere 
at  present,  and  have  for  a  long  time  adhered  very  close- 
ly, to  the  requirements  laid  down  in  the  New  Testament. 
In  the  exercise  of  the  liberty  enjoyed  by  pastors  and 
official  boards  in  most  of  the  American  denominations, 
many  congregations  use  even  a  more  simplified  and  puri- 
fied form  of  admission  than  may  be  contained  in  their  of- 
ficial liturgies.  For  instance,  "The  Book  of  Common 
Worship,  prepared  by  the  Conmiittee  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.," 
for  voluntary  use,  asks  the  candidate  for  admission  to  the 
Church :  ( 1 )  "Do  you  receive  and  profess  the  Christian 
faith?  (2)  Do  you  confess  your  sins,  and  turn  from 
them  with  godly  sorrow,  and  put  all  your  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus;  and  do  you 
promise  in  his  strength  to  lead  a  sober,  righteous,  and 
godly  life?  (3)  Do  you  promise  to  make  diligent  use 
of  the  means  of  grace,  submitting  yourself  to  the  lawful 
authority  and  guidance  of  the  Church,  and  continuing 
in  the  peace  and  fellowship  of  the  people  of  God?"  No 
one  who  is  at  all  prepared  to  join  a  Christian  Church, 
and  not  merely  a  society  for  ethical  culture,  should  ob- 
ject to  these  requirements.  The  ethical  note  might  be  a 
little  more  emphasized  in  all  our  creeds,  though  it  is 
contained  in  the  very  demands  "to  repent"  and  "to  be- 
lieve," if  only  the  pastors  would  conduct  catechetical 
classes  in  which  these  pregnant  terms  might  be  ana- 
lyzed. Yet  we  concede  that  a  little  more  stress,  in  this 
age  of  revival  of  the  "ethical  and  social  consciousness," 
on  the  plain  question  as  to  the  candidate's  acceptance  of 
the  royal  law  (Matt.  22 :  37) ,  and  the  golden  rule  (Matt. 
7:  12)  would  appeal  to  many. 

[384] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

I  would,  however,  advocate  the  liberalizing  of  the 
entrance  conditions  to  church  membership  solely  in  order 
to  bring  them  into  harmony  with  the  New  Testament 
and  not  because  I  think  that  by  doing  so  a  large  number 
of  people  standing  aloof  would  then  flock  into  the 
Church.  There  are  more  potent  reasons  which  keep 
people  outside.  There  is  the  evil  heart  of  man;  igno- 
rance of  the  Bible,  for  which  the  pastors  are  greatly  to 
blame  because  they  have  given  up  the  personal  cate- 
chization  of  the  young,  handing  it  over  entirely  to  less 
qualified  Sunday-school  teachers;  the  bad  example  of 
evil  rich  men  in  the  Church;  atheistic  socialism;  open 
lawlessness  at  the  two  extremes  of  society,  by  the  very 
rich  and  by  the  residents  in  the  slums ;  bad  city  govern- 
ment failing  to  enforce  the  laws  protecting  the  weekly 
day  of  rest.  In  spite  of  these  up-hill  conditions  the 
Church  is  not  only  holding  her  own  but  is  making  steady 
progress,  both  extensively  and  as  to  real  influence.  In 
Germany  the  liberal  ministers  demand  freedom  to 
preach  "modernism"  in  order  to  draw  the  educated 
classes ;  but  their  churches  are  empty,  while  the  services 
of  those  who  hold  to  the  more  evangelical  and  New 
Testament  views  are  well  attended. 

With  special  reference  to  President  Lincoln's  case 
I  may  be  permitted  to  remark:  (1)  that  he  seems  to  be 
too  exacting  in  his  strictures  on  the  Church.  He  ap- 
plied a  double  standard  in  his  relations  to  society.  He 
strongly  dissented,  e.g.,  from  the  Dred  Scott  decision, 
from  a  number  of  compromise  laws  on  slavery,  and  from 
minor  details  of  the  United  States  Constitution  itself,  and 
yet  he  did  not  hesitate  on  several  occasions  to  accept  these 
documents  and  to  take  oaths  of  allegiance,  simply  be- 
cause he  knew  himself  to  be  a  loyal  American  and  found 

[385] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

himself  in  sincere  sympathy  with  the  constitution  and 
laws  in  general.  If  he  was  a  member  of  a  secret  society 
he  no  doubt  found  many  details  of  their  rules  not  to  his 
liking,  yet  he  joined  the  lodge,  because  he  sympathized 
with  the  general  trend  and  spirit  of  the  order.  Almost 
everybody  believes  that  President  Lincoln  was  a  true 
Christian  at  heart,  for  he  highly  appreciated  the  tre- 
mendous influence  of  the  Church  for  good ;  he  loved  her 
ministers,  attended  her  services,  prayed  to  her  God,  and 
read  the  Bible.  Might  he  not  have  applied  his  entirely 
correct  practise  toward  the  United  States  government 
to  the  Christian  Church,  even  if  she  in  his  time  required 
assent  "to  long  comphcated  statements  of  Christian 
doctrine,"  a  supposition  which  I  doubt  very  much. 
President  Lincoln's  example  has  done  great  injury  to 
the  Church  and  to  America,  during  his  lifetime  and  up 
to  this  very  day;  for  his  conspicuous  example  has  been 
quoted  by  thousands  as  a  reason,  or  as  an  excuse,  for 
not  affiliating  with  the  Church.  Distinguished  men  who 
love  America  should  carefully  consider  their  influence  for 
evil  if  they,  for  reasons  which  would  not  weigh  with 
them  in  other  relations  of  life,  fail  to  throw  their  in- 
fluence on  the  side  of  that  institution  which  by  the  com- 
mon consent  of  all  the  good  is  the  strongest  power  for 
personal  and  civil  morality,  and  if  they  neglect  openly 
to  acknowledge  the  Bible  which  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court  in  the  famous  Girard  will  case  declared  to 
contain  a  system  of  the  highest  morality  known  to  men. 
(2)  I  doubt  whether  President  Lincoln  realized  how 
comprehensive  a  pledge  it  is  which  he  declared  himself 
willing  to  accept  "with  all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul." 
In  it  he  declares  himself  willing  to  be  guided  by  the 
great  commandment,  and  as  this  is  contained  in  the  Old 

[386] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  the  New  Testament,  he  thereby  accepts  the  author- 
ity of  the  Bible  in  his  religion.  He  calls  Jesus  "the 
Saviour,"  by  which  he  pregnantly  professes  man's  sin- 
fulness, his  inability  to  save  himself,  and  the  paramount 
mission  of  Jesus.  He  is  willing  to  follow  his  teaching, 
and  this  implies  recognition  of  Christ's  lordship.  He 
considers  love  the  supreme  thing  in  the  world,  and  there- 
by accepts  the  quintessence  of  the  New  Testament 
ethics.  I  verily  believe  that  few  evangelical  churches  in 
his  own  time,  and  still  fewer  in  our  time,  would  have 
refused  President  Lincoln  admission  on  such  a  pledge 
with  its  evident  implications.  If,  however,  Lincoln 
wanted  his  words  understood  in  their  bare  ethical  import, 
he  betrays  a  superficiality  of  reasoning  not  at  all  usual 
with  him.  For  he  should  have  known  that  ethics  must 
rest  on  religion,  and  that  if  Christ  and  his  apostles  had 
had  nothing  more  to  offer  to  the  world  than  what  Mr. 
Lincoln  deemed  sufBcient,  there  would  be  no  Church  to- 
day, and  possibly  there  would  never  have  been  an 
American  republic,  nor  a  character  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
excellence. 

11.  The  basis  of  a  sound  and  workable  theology  is 
the  truth.  Truth  may  be  defined  as  the  perfect  agree- 
ment between  reality  and  opinion.  All  truth  is  one. 
Consequently,  whatever  in  literature,  science  and  phi- 
losophy has  really  been  ascertained  as  true,  must  there- 
fore be  cheerfully,  not  grudgingly,  accepted  by  theology 
and  the  Church,  and  their  former  statements  and  con- 
clusions must  be  revised  and  adjusted  according  to  the 
new  light. 

From  these  observations,  which  are  really  of  the 
nature  of  axioms,  a  twofold  criticism  results :  one  direct- 

[  887  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ed  toward  science  and  the  other  toward  the  Church  and 
theology.  (1)  Science,  in  its  various  subdivisions,  has 
always  shown  the  very  natural  weakness  of  asserting 
"assured  results,"  when  there  was  as  yet  only  a  hypoth- 
esis, a  "research  guess,"  to  offer.  It  is  a  perfectly  legit- 
imate method  in  any  scientific  induction  to  start  with  a 
hypothesis,  and,  after  having  verified  it,  to  present  it  as 
a  theory.  Very  often,  however,  our  scientists  become 
impatient  at  other  scientists  and  especially  at  the  Church 
for  not  accepting  their  hypotheses  as  proven  theories. 
(2)  Theology  is  the  science  of  religion  and  the  bearing 
of  religion  on  personal,  social,  commercial  and  political 
life  is  fraught  with  the  most  important  consequences, 
here  and  hereafter.  Hence,  while  theology  must  enjoy 
full  liberty  of  investigation  and  discussion,  the  Church 
cannot  permit  her  to  apply  her  experiments  too  freely 
to  the  issues  of  practical  life  on  which  so  much  depends, 
before  they  have  reached  a  tolerably  advanced  stage  of 
scientific  verification.  The  place  for  hypotheses  is  the 
laboratory.  Even  advanced  theologians,  like  Dr.  Har- 
nack  of  Berlin,  insist  on  this  distinction.  Medical  science, 
e.g.,  does  not  permit  its  research  professors  to  experi- 
ment with  their  supposed  finds  on  men  before  their  hy- 
pothesis has  been  reasonably  elevated  to  a  theory.  (3) 
The  scientist  must  remember  that  truth  is  possessed  of 
an  undying  vitality.  "Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise 
again,  the  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers."  If  an  opin- 
ion is  true,  i.e.,  if  it  corresponds  to  reality,  it  will  even- 
tually be  accepted. 

The  Church  in  her  organized  capacity,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  perhaps  the  most  conservative  institution  in  the 
world.  ( 1 )  While  almost  all  true  progress  in  the  world 
may,  directly  or  indirectly,  be  traced  back  to  individuals 

[388] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  the  Church,  the  Church  in  her  organized  capacity  has 
never  been  entirely  successful  in  overcoming  her  beset- 
ting weakness  of  passively  holding  aloof  or  actually 
opposing  new  departures  in  science,  literature,  and  phi- 
losophy until  these  movements  became  so  strong  that 
one  group  after  another  of  her  leading  men  became 
convinced  of  the  truth;  finally  the  organization  as  a 
whole  capitulated,  but  not  until  she  had  sustained  great 
losses  in  prestige  and  members.  Andrew  D.  White j  in 
his  History  of  the  Warfare  of  Science  with  Theology, 
has,  in  a  spirit  entirely  friendly  to  the  Church  and  re- 
ligion, conclusively  shown  this.  (2)  The  Church  must 
remember  that  the  Lord  promised  to  her  the  gift  of  a 
fuller  understanding  of  the  old,  and  the  acquisition  of 
new  truths  (John  16: 12-14) .  (3)  The  Church  should, 
therefore,  remember  that  every  ascertained  result  in  any 
science  whatsoever  is  in  the  nature  of  a  divine  revelation, 
and  should  be  claimed  by  theology  as  material  for  her 
system;  for  God  is  the  giver  of  all  good  gifts.  Only 
the  truth  shall  make  men  free.  (4)  Theology  and  the 
Church  must  insist  with  much  greater  emphasis  than 
hitherto  that  the  Bible  is  a  record  of  revelation  and  of 
precious  religious  experiences  which  have  the  value  of  a 
standard,  rather  than  a  text-book  of  geology,  astronomy, 
physiology  and  history.  This  will  lift  a  burden  from  her 
shoulders  which  she  was  never  able  to  carry  with  ease 
and  grace.  Theologians  and  the  better  elements  in  the 
Church  have  learned  by  this  time  that  changing  old 
view-points  and  accepting  new  interpretations  is  by  no 
means  equivalent  to  giving  up  the  Bible,  but  only  in- 
volves a  prof  ounder  understanding  of  the  word  of  truth. 
(5)  The  Church  thrives  best  when  allowing  to  theology 
a  large  measure  of  liberty  in  research,  investigation  and 

[389] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

reconstruction,  while  at  the  same  time  insisting  on  spir- 
ituality and  practical  piety  in  life;  for  where  the  heart 
is  right  the  head  will  not  go  very  far  astray.  Cor  est 
quod  facit  theologium  ("It  is  the  heart  that  makes  the 
theologian"). 

Summing  up  then,  permit  me  to  register  my  general 
agreement  with  the  observation  in  your  letter,  viz. :  that 
"It  is  true  that  a  message  to  be  effective  must  stand  for 
and  teach  those  things  that  constitute  the  sum  total 
of  the  values  of  human  life,  whatever  their  sources 
may  be." 


[390] 


THE  LATE  JOHN  WATSON    ("IAN 
MACLAREN"),  D.D., 

LIVERPOOL^   ENGLAND 

Bom  at  Manningtree,  Essex,  England,  Nov.  3,  1850;  died 
at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Iowa,  May  6,  1907;  he  studied  at  the 
Universities  of  Edinburgh  and  Tiibingen,  and  at  New  Col- 
lege, Edinburgh;  was  assistant  at  Barclay  Church,  Edin- 
burgh, 1874-85;  minister  of  Logiealmond  Free  Church, 
1875-77;  of  St.  Matthew's  Church,  Glasgow,  1877-80; 
and  Sexton  Park  Presbyterian  Church,  Liverpool,  1880- 
1905;  Lyman  Beecher  lecturer  at  Yale  in  1896,  and  in 
1906  again  visited  the  United  States,  where  he  was  taken 
ill  and  died;  author  of  The  Upper  Room;  The  Mind  of 
the  Master;  The  Cure  of  Souls;  The  Potter*s  Wheel; 
Companions  of  the  Sorrowful  Way;  Doctrines  of  Grace; 
The  Life  of  the  Master;  The  Homely  Virtues;  The  In- 
spiration of  Our  Faith;  Beside  the  Bonnie  Briar  Bush, 

*The  footsteps  of  the  holy  apostles  had  not  died  away — 
concerning  whose  relation  to  Jesus  something  will  be 
said — before  the  fathers  arose,  and  became,  with  the 
lapse  of  time,  lords  of  the  Christian  conscience.  Great 
theologians  of  the  Middle  Ages  gradually  took  rank  with 
the  fathers,  while  council  after  council,  from  Nice  to 
Trent,  saddled  their  accumulated  dogmas  on  the  Church. 
Chief  reformers  almost  literally  dictated  creeds  to  na- 
tions, and  the  pragmatical  seventeenth  century  forged 
a  yoke  of  doctrines  so  minute,  tedious,  and  unreasonable 
that  it  became  too  irksome  even  for  our  more  patient 
fathers.  .  .  .  Unity  was  as  much  wanting  as  char- 
ity, for  Christians  in  the  matter  of  creed  agreed  in 

♦From  The  Mind  of  the  Master,  by  John  Watson,  D.D.  ("Ian  Mac- 
laren")  by  permission  of  Dodd,  Mead  &  Company.  Copyright  1895,  1896, 
by  Dodd,  Mead  &  Company. 

[  391  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 
I 

nothing  except  in  ignoring  the  gospels  and  persecuting 
one  another.  Romans  rest  on  the  councils  down  to  the 
one  that  affirmed  the  infallibility  of  the  pope;  an  Angli- 
can goes  back  to  the  early  councils  and  the  fathers;  a 
Lutheran  measures  his  faith  by  the  Confession  of  Augs- 
burg; and  the  Scottish  Church  seems  to  suppose  that 
Christianity  was  only  once  thoroughly  understood,  when 
an  assembly  of  English  divines  met  at  Westminster. 
Bodies  of  Christian  folk  have  also  ignored  Jesus's  warn- 
ing against  rabbinism,  and  have  surrendered  their  birth- 
right by  allowing  themselves  to  be  called  by  the  names 
of  men,  and  so  we  have  Socinians,  Wesleyans,  Camer- 
onians,  Morisonians  and  what  not.  ...  It  comes 
as  a  shock  on  one  to  attend  some  heresy  trial,  and  hear 
the  prosecution  quoting  a  foreign  divine  of  almosij 
miraculous  woodenness  and  the  defendant  taking  refuge 
in  a  second-rate  commentator.  If  you  were  to  ask,  as 
is  very  natural,  why  neither  will  refer  at  once  and  finally 
to  the  words  of  Jesus,  who  can  hardly  have  been  silent 
on  any  point  of  importance,  it  would  be  at  once  ex- 
plained that  such  a  reference  is  an  irrelevancy  and  sub- 
terfuge ;  and  one  must  admit  that  it  would  be  an  attempt 
to  get  behind  the  rabbis  to  Jesus.  But  does  it  matter 
much  what  any  rabbi  says?  and  is  not  the  only  vital 
question.  What  saith  the  Master? 

There  are  certain  rights  which  are  legal;  there  are 
certain  rights  which  are  natural.  No  law  can  take  away 
the  latter,  nor  can  a  man  divest  himself  of  them  by  any 
form  of  engagement;  and  among  the  inherent  rights  of 
a  Christian  man  is  his  appeal  to  Jesus  as  the  one  Judge 
of  truth.  It  has  often  lain  dormant  in  the  Church;  it 
has  at  times  been  powerfully  exercised.  Some  one  dis- 
covers that  the  water  of  life  is  clearer  and  sweeter  from 

[  392  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  spring  than  in  a  cistern,  and  shows  the  grass-grown 
path  to  the  spring.  Perhaps  there  has  been  no  long 
period  without  some  voice  summoning  Christians  to 
break  away  from  the  tyranny  of  tradition  and  return  to 
the  liberty  of  Jesus.  This  has  been  the  work  of  all 
reformers  from  Tauler  to  Luther,  from  Luther  to 
Wesley — ^to  unearth  the  evangel  of  Jesus  from  the  mass 
of  dogmas  and  rites  which  have  overlaid  it.  Two  parties 
have  been  in  recurring  conflict — ^the  traditionalists,  who 
insist,  "This  is  what  our  fathers  have  said,  and  what  you 
must  believe" ;  and  the  evangelists,  who  declare,  "This 
is  what  Jesus  has  said,  and  this  only  will  we  believe." 
When  traditionalism  has  the  upper  hand,  it  bums  its 
opponents,  as  the  Roman  Church  did  John  Huss,  or 
annoys  them,  as  the  Church  of  England  did  Robertson 
of  Brighton ;  when  evangelism  is  strong,  it  clears  an  open 
space  where  men  can  breathe  and  see  Jesus.  By-and-by 
each  evangelical  movement  loses  its  free  spirit,  and 
settles  down  into  a  new  form  of  traditionalism.  Brave 
hands  clear  away  the  covering  from  the  ancient  temple 
of  truth,  and  then  the  generation  following  allows  the 
sand-drift  to  cover  its  columns  once  more.  It  is  a  long 
battle  between  a  handful  of  faithful  men  and  the  desert, 
and  too  often  the  desert  has  won. 

The  spirit  of  our  day  is  so  resentful  of  traditionalism 
as  to  be  even  impatient  of  theology,  which  is  foolish;  and 
to  threaten  faith,  which  would  be  ruin.  No  one,  how- 
ever, need  be  alarmed,  for  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  the  end  will  be  the  toleration  of  a  noble  science  and 
the  reestablishment  of  faith.  When  workmen  come 
with  pickax  and  shovel,  it  is  either  to  destroy  or  to 
discover,  and  the  aim  of  present  thought  is  discovery. 
Were  earnest  men  rebelling  against  ancient  dogmas 

[893] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

because  they  were  an  integral  part  of  Jesus's  teaching, 
this  would  be  a  very  serious  matter.  This  would  be 
nothing  short  of  a  deliberate  attack  on  Jesus.  If  they 
be  only  endeavoring  to  correct  the  results  of  theological 
science  by  the  actual  teaching  of  Jesus,  then  surely 
nothing  could  be  more  hopeful.  This  must  issue  in  the 
revival  of  Christianity.  There  is  no  question  that  for 
some  time  dogmatic  theology  has  been  at  a  discount. 
They  say  that  both  the  fathers  and  the  Puritans  are 
unsalable,  and  this  is  to  be  regretted.  But  there  can 
be  little  question  that  biblical  theology  is  at  a  premium, 
and  this  is  of  far  more  importance.  Never  have  there 
been  so  many  Lives  of  Jesus ;  never  have  his  words  been 
so  anxiously  studied.  This  is  as  it  ought  to  be,  and 
every  Protestant  may  well  lift  up  his  head.  For  what 
did  the  reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  contend,  but 
for  the  right  of  Christian  men  to  build  their  faith  at 
first  hand  on  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture?  We  are 
living  in  a  second  reformation,  and  it  were  an  immense 
blunder  for  us  to  go  back  on  the  principle  of  all  reforma- 
tions, and  insist  directly  or  indirectly  that  Protestant 
councils  should  come  in  between  Christians  and  Christ. 
"When  I  say  the  religion  of  Protestants,"  wrote  Chil- 
lingworth,  "I  do  not  understand  the  doctrines  of  Luther, 
or  Calvin,  or  Melanchthon,  nor  the  Confession  of  Augs- 
burg or  Geneva,  nor  the  Catechism  of  Heidelberg,  nor 
the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England;  no,  nor  the  har- 
mony of  all  Protestant  confessions,  but  that  wherein 
they  all  agree  and  which  they  subscribe  with  a  greater 
harmony  as  the  perfect  rule  of  their  faith  and  actions, 
that  is,  the  Bible."  Perhaps  the  ground  principle  of 
one  Reformation  was  never  more  admirably  stated :  the 
principle  of  our  Reformation  is  an  advance  along  the 

[394] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

same  line.  The  religion  of  Protestants,  or  let  us  say 
Christians,  is  not  the  Bible  in  all  its  parts,  but  first  of 
all  that  portion  which  is  its  soul,  by  which  the  teaching 
of  prophets  and  apostles  must  itself  be  judged — the 
very  words  of  Jesus. 

As  soon  as  any  body  of  men  band  themselves  to- 
gether for  a  common  object — ^whether  it  be  making  a 
railway  or  reg^ierating  a  world — they  must  come  to  an 
understanding,  and  promise  loyalty.  This  is  their  cove- 
nant, which  no  man  need  accept  unless  he  please,  but 
which,  after  acceptance,  he  must  keep.  When  Jesus 
founded  that  unique  society  which  he  called  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  we  prefer  to  call  the  Church,  it  was  neces- 
sary he  should  lay  down  its  basis,  and  this  is  what  he 
did  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  For  we  ought  not  to 
think  of  that  sermon  as  a  mere  detailed  report  of  one 
of  his  numerous  addresses,  which  often  sprang  from  un- 
expected circumstances.  It  was  not  a  defense  against 
the  Pharisee,  like  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  St.  Luke,  or 
an  explanation  to  the  disciples,  like  the  thirteenth  of  St. 
Matthew.  It  was  an  elaborate  and  deliberate  utterance, 
made  by  arrangement,  and  to  a  select  audience.  It  was 
Christ's  manifesto,  and  the  constitution  of  Christianity. 
When  Jesus  opened  his  mouth,  his  new  society  was  in 
the  air.  When  he  ceased,  every  one  knew  its  nature, 
and  also  on  what  terms  a  man  might  belong  to  it.  It 
would  be  very  difficult  to  say  which  is  the  latest  creed 
of  Christianity — ^there  is  always  some  new  one  in  forma- 
tion, but  there  can  be  no  question  which  is  the  oldest. 
Among  all  the  Creeds  of  Christendom  the  only  one  which 
has  the  authority  of  Christ  himself  is  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount.  When  one  reads  the  creed  which  was  given 
by  Jesus,  and  the  creeds  which  have  been  made  by 

IS95  2 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christians,  he  cannot  fail  to  detect  an  immense  differ- 
ence, and  it  does  not  matter  whether  he  selects  the 
Nicene  Creed  or  the  Westminster  Confession.  They  all 
have  a  family  likeness  to  each  other,  and  a  family  un- 
likeness  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  They  deal  with 
different  subjects,  they  move  in  a  different  atmosphere. 
Were  the  Athanasian  Creed  and  the  beatitudes  printed 
in  parallel  columns,  one  would  find  it  hard  to  believe 
that  both  documents  were  virtually  intended  to  serve 
the  same  end,  to  be  a  basis  of  discipleship.  It  is  not 
that  they  vary  in  details,  insisting  on  different  points 
of  one  consistent  covenant,  but  that  they  are  constructed 
on  different  principles.  When  one  asks,  "What  is  a 
Christian?"  the  creeds  and  the  Sermon  not  only  do  not 
give  the  same  answer,  but  models  so  contradictory  that 
from  the  successive  specifications  he  could  create  two 
types  without  any  apparent  resemblance.  We  all  must 
know  many  persons  who  would  pass  as  good  Christians 
by  the  Sermon,  and  be  cast  out  by  the  creeds,  and  many 
to  whom  the  creeds  are  a  broad  way  and  the  Sermon  is 
a  very  strait  gate.  Since  there  is  nothing  we  ought  to 
be  more  anxious  about  than  being  true  Christians,  there 
is  nothing  we  ought  to  think  out  more  carefully  than  this 
startling  variety. 

What  must  strike  every  person  about  Jesus's  ser- 
mon is  that  it  is  not  metaphysical  but  ethical.  What 
he  lays  stress  upon  are  such  points  as  these :  the  father- 
hood of  God  over  the  human  family ;  his  perpetual  and 
beneficent  providence  for  all  his  children;  the  excel- 
lence of  simple  trust  in  God  over  the  earthly  care  of 
this  world;  the  obligation  of  God's  children  to  be  like 
their  Father  in  heaven;  the  paramount  importance  of 
true  and  holy  motives;  the  worthlessness  of  a  merely 

[396] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

formal  righteousness;  the  inestimable  value  of  heart 
righteousness;  forgiveness  of  sins  dependent  on  our 
forgiving  our  neighbor;  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  and  the 
play  of  the  tender  and  passive  virtues.  Upon  the  man 
who  desired  to  be  his  disciple  and  a  member  of  God's 
kingdom  were  laid  the  conditions  of  a  pure  heart,  of  a 
forgiving  spirit,  of  a  helpful  hand,  of  a  heavenly  pur- 
pose, of  an  unworldly  mind.  Christ  did  not  ground  his 
Christianity  in  thinking,  or  in  doing,  but  first  of  all 
in  being.  It  consisted  in  a  certain  type  of  soul — a  spir- 
itual shape  of  the  inner  self.  Was  a  man  satisfied  with 
this  type,  and  would  he  aim  at  it  in  his  own  life?  Would 
he  put  his  name  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  place 
himself  under  Jesus's  charge  for  its  accomplishment? 
Then  he  was  a  Christian  according  to  the  conditions  laid 
down  by  Jesus  in  the  fresh  daybreak  of  his  religion. 

When  one  turns  to  the  creeds,  the  situation  has 
changed,  and  he  finds  himself  in  another  world.  They 
have  nothing  to  do  with  character;  they  do  not  afford 
an  idea  of  character;  they  do  not  ask  pledges  of  char- 
acter ;  they  have  no  place  in  their  construction  for  char- 
acter. From  their  first  word  to  the  last  they  are  physical 
or  metaphysical,  not  ethical.  They  dwell  on  the  relation 
of  the  three  Persons  in  the  Holy  Trinity;  the  divine  and 
human  natures  in  the  person  of  Jesus;  his  miraculous 
birth  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  the  con- 
nection between  his  sacrifice  and  the  divine  law;  the 
nature  of  the  penalty  he  paid,  and  its  reference  to  his 
atonement;  the  purposes  of  God  regarding  the  salva- 
tion of  individuals,  and  the  collision  between  human  will 
and  divine;  the  means  by  which  grace  is  conveyed  to  the 
soul;  the  mystery  of  the  sacraments,  and  the  interme- 
diate state.     From  time  to  time  those  problems  have 

[  397  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

been  discussed,  and  the  conclusions  of  the  majority 
formed  into  dogmas  which  have  been  made  the  test  of 
Christianity.  If  any  person  should  decline  assent  to  one 
or  all  of  those  propositions,  as  the  case  may  be — on  the 
ground  that  he  does  not  understand  them,  for  instance — 
and  offers  instead  adherence  to  Jesus's  creed  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  it  would  be  thought  to  be  beside 
the  question;  just  as  if  any  one  had  declined  obedience  to 
Jesus's  commandments,  and  offered  instead  acceptance 
of  some  theory  of  his  person,  the  Master  would  have 
refused  his  discipleship  with  grave  emphasis. 

It  may,  of  course,  be  urged  that  Jesus  said  many 
things  afterward  which  must  be  added  to  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  to  form  the  complete  basis  of  Christian 
discipleship,  and  that  great  discourse  is  sometimes  be- 
littled as  an  elementary  utterance,  to  which  compara- 
tively slight  importance  should  now  be  attached.  Cer- 
tainly Jesus  did  expound  and  amplify  the  principles 
of  his  first  deliverance,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
he  altered  the  constitution  of  his  kingdom  either  by  im- 
posing fresh  conditions  or  omitting  the  old.  Did  he  not 
teach  on  to  the  cross  that  we  stood  to  God  as  children 
to  a  father,  and  must  do  his  will:  that  for  no  sin  was 
there  or  could  there  be  forgiveness  till  it  was  abandoned ; 
that  the  state  of  the  soul  and  not  the  mere  outside  life 
was  everything;  that  the  sacrifice  of  self,  and  not  self- 
aggrandizement  was  his  method  of  salvation;  that  love 
was  life.  And  when  he  said:  "Believe  in  me;  carry  my 
cross,"  was  he  not  calling  men  to  fulfil  his  gospel?  If 
one  had  come  to  Christ  at  Capernaum  or  Jerusalem,  and 
said,  "Master,  there  is  nothing  I  so  desire  as  to  keep 
thy  sayings.  Wilt  thou  have  me,  weak  and  ignorant 
although  I  be,  as  thy  disciple?"    Can  you  imagine  Christ 

[398] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

then,  or  now,  or  at  any  time  interposing  with  a  series 
of  doctrinal  tests  regarding  either  the  being  of  God  or 
the  history  of  man?  It  is  impossible  because  it  would 
be  incongruous.  Indeed  if  Christ  did  revise  and  im- 
prove the  conditions  of  discipleship,  we  should  learn  that 
from  the  last  address  in  the  upper  room.  But  what  was 
the  obligation  he  then  laid  on  the  disciples'  conscience, 
as  with  his  dying  breath?  "This  is  my  commandment, 
tiiat  ye  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you."  It  is  the 
Sermon  on  the  Moimt  in  brief. 

No  church  since  the  early  centuries  has  had  the 
courage  to  formulate  an  ethical  creed,  for  even  those 
bodies  of  Christians  which  have  no  written  theological 
creeds,  yet  have  implicit  affirmations  or  denials  of  doc- 
trine as  their  basis.  Imagine  a  body  of  Christians  who 
should  take  their  stand  on  the  sermon  of  Jesus,  and 
conceive  their  creed  on  his  lines.  Imagine  how  it  would 
read:  "I  believe  in  the  Fatherhood  of  God;  I  believe  in 
the  words  of  Jesus;  I  believe  in  the  clean  heart;  I  be- 
lieve in  the  service  of  love;  I  believe  in  the  unworldly 
life ;  I  believe  in  the  beatitudes ;  I  promise  to  trust  God 
and  follow  Christ,  to  forgive  my  enemies  and  to  seek 
after  the  righteousness  of  God."  Could  any  form  of 
words  be  more  elevated,  more  persuasive,  more  alluring? 
Do  they  not  thrill  the  heart  and  strengthen  the  con- 
science? Liberty  of  thought  is  allowed;  liberty  of 
sinning  is  alone  denied.  Who  would  refuse  to  sign  this 
creed?  They  would  come  from  the  east,  and  the  west, 
and  the  north,  and  the  south  to  its  call,  and  even  they 
who  would  hesitate  to  bind  themselves  to  a  crusade  so 
arduous  would  admire  it,  and  long  to  be  worthy.  Does 
one  say  this  is  too  ideal,  too  unpractical,  too  quixotic? 
That  no  church  could  stand  and  work  on  such  a  basis? 

[399] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

For  three  too  short  years  the  Church  of  Christ  had  none 
else,  and  it  was  by  holy  living,  and  not  by  any 
metaphysical  subtleties,  the  primitive  Church  lived, 
and  suffered,  and  conquered. 


[400] 


THE  REV.  LAUCHLAN  MACLEAN  WATT, 
M.A.,  B.D.,  F.R.S.E., 

EDINBURGH^   SCOTLAND 

Minister  of  St.  Stephen's,  Edinburgh,  Scotland;  educated 
at  Edinburgh  University;  entered  the  Church  of  Scotland 
in  1896,  after  mission  work  and  social  study  in  Edinburgh 
and  the  Highlands;  author  of  God's  Altar  Stairs;  Lectures 
on  the  Lord's  Prayer;  In  Love's  Garden;  Alloa  and  Tulli- 
body, a  Historic  Sketch;  The  Grey  Mother  and  Songs 
of  Empire;  The  Communion  Table;  By  Still  Waters; 
Metrical  Psalms  and  Paraphrases,  selected  and  edited; 
The  Tryst  (poems) ;  Edragil;  edited  Smith's  Summer  in 
Skye,  and  Mrs.  Stowe's  Dred;  Attic  and  Elizabethan 
Tragedy;  Moran  of  Kildally;  In  Poet's  Corner;  Oscar. 

It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  multitudes  every  year  turn 
from  the  Church,  and  become  blind  and  deaf  to  her 
claims.  But  my  experience  is  not  that  this  is  due  to 
difficulties  of  creed  subscription  or  creed  acknowledg- 
ment, but  very  largely  to  that  carelessness  which  springs 
out  of  the  weariness  arising  from  the  multiplicit  dis- 
tractions of  to-day,  with  the  resultant  spirit  of  unrest 
which  makes  men  impatient  of  restraint  of  every  kind, 
suspicious  of  conviction,  and  rebellious  against  any 
attempt  at  guidance,  as  though  it  were  an  attempt  to 
shackle  their  freedom.  One  sees  the  very  same  thing 
in  the  modern  homelessness  of  the  well-to-do.  On  the 
very  first  and  flimsiest  excuse  they  fly  about  the  coun- 
try, and  their  existence  becomes  a  search  for  change  of 
scene  and  amusement — for  anything,  indeed,  but  quiet 
settlement  of  heart  and  thought.  The  week-end  railway 
system  and  the  motor  car  habit  find  their  reflection 
in  the  lives  of  the  poor  and  the  rich  alike. 

[401  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Perhaps  a  great  many  love  to  think  that  they  do  not 
attend  church  because  they  cannot  accept  the  confes- 
sions of  faith  which  are  the  standards  of  the  churches, 
especially  if  they  have  read  or  heard  of  such  a 
difficulty.  But  I  usually  find  that  the  majority  of  such 
people  either  have  not  read  the  confessions  which  they 
condemn,  or  have  not  really  thought  deeply  on  the  mat- 
ter at  all.  It  may  be  that  they  have  only  read  certain 
forms  of  cheap  controversial  literature,  and  have  mas- 
tered the  details  of  diatribes  against  phases  of  dogma 
which  have  really  been  dead  and  buried  one  himdred 
years  ago.  At  any  rate,  I  have  very  frequently  been 
led  to  think  so,  from  the  color  and  tone  of  the  discussions 
thrust  upon  a  clerg5maan  by  the  would-be  clever  man 
whom  one  sometimes  meets  in  railway  travel. 

I  do  not  believe,  however,  that  the  religious  pessi- 
mist is  at  all  correct  when  he  bewails  the  indijBference  of 
the  people  of  to-day  in  regard  to  religion.  I  think  the 
fact  is  that  a  far  larger  proportion  are  thinking  far  more 
deeply  about  the  things  of  the  soul — ^life's  purpose, 
eternal  destiny,  the  duties  of  the  heart — ^than  did  when 
our  churches  were  more  crowded  than  they  are.  A 
man  with  a  message,  obviously  grappled  out  of  earnest 
thinking,  by  his  own  struggle  toward  light — a  message 
of  hope,  telling  men  where  not  only  are  the  ways  of  the 
true  discovery  of  the  highest  self,  but  also  the  ways  of 
escape  from  harassing  dubieties  which  are  the  foster- 
parents  of  distressing  unbelief — ^will  find  an  audience 
keen  to  listen  and  to  learn,  almost  anywhere. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  show  that  religion 
is  the  handmaid  of  a  progressive  revelation,  that  in  each 
generation  we  see  "but  a  part  of  God,"  that  religious 
life,  like  all  life,  is  a  continuous  upbuilding  process,  and 

[402] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

that  the  builders  must  reject,  frequently,  stones  which 
have  been  elements  of  obstruction,  so  long  as  the  corner- 
stone is  not  overthrown.  Christ's  arm  must  grow,  often, 
too  long  and  too  strong  for  the  sleeve  which  to-day  pro- 
vides for  it.  His  ship  of  grace  is  not  to  lie  moored  to 
rotting  wharves,  while  men  and  women  are  crying  for 
its  aid  beyond  the  harbor  bar.  His  language  must,  like 
that  of  every  manifestation  of  life,  grow  and  assimilate, 
else  it  becomes  but  the  hardened  envelope  of  obsolete 
truths.  Not  that  truth  changes,  but  what  is  a  truth 
sufficient  for  one  day's  needs  is  not  sufficient  for  those 
of  the  next.  The  world's  life  outside  the  Church  goes 
marching  along,  securing  thus  new  and  manifold  points 
of  view;  and  if  the  Church  does  not  move  also,  it  is 
doomed  to  be  left  behind.  The  venture  of  faith  is  as 
necessary  to-day  as  ever  it  was,  and  the  Church  must 
sometimes  take  the  risk  of  believing  enterprise  with 
God,  if  literature,  science,  commerce,  and  art  are  to  be 
leavened  with  the  grace  and  power  of  Christ. 

I  think  that,  in  many  ways,  science  has  been  a  con- 
stable aiding  faith.  The  great  modern  advance  in  sur- 
gery has  brought  so  many  into  touch  with  the  ordeal 
of  the  knife  that  the  shadow  which  keeps  the  keys  of  all 
the  creeds  broods  closer  over  the  world  to-day,  while 
the  unveiling  of  the  giant  secrets  of  nature  has  been  as 
the  revelation  of  a  God  of  almightiness  and  providence 
vaster  than  ever  any  generation  has  known.  It  makes, 
however,  for  a  greater  clearage  between  the  automatic 
Christian,  who  was  a  mere  churchgoer,  and  the  believer 
who  thinks,  who  grapples  with  his  faith  until  he  con- 
quers doubt,  rather  than,  as  formerly,  who  grappled 
with  his  doubt  until  he  conquered  faith. 

Certainly,  at  the  present  moment,  the  tendency  is 

[40S] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  cut  the  Gordian  knot ;  but  the  effect,  were  this  entire- 
ly yielded  to,  would  be  that  of  casting  loose  the  painter 
in  an  uncharted  sea.  We  should  rather,  like  the  mari- 
ners of  old,  loosen  knot  after  knot,  if  necessary,  slowly 
and  prayerfully,  liberating  breath  after  breath  of  quick- 
ening breeze.  We  are  in  an  experimental  belt  of  the 
ocean  of  belief.  There  should  be  no  universal  hard- 
and-fast  test  for  admission  of  the  laity  to  the  Church. 
Of  course,  there  are  some  who  try  to  enter  because  the 
Church  may  help  their  trade  or  whitewash  their  char- 
acter. But  these  must  be  shown  that  the  Christian 
Church  is  neither  a  cooperative  store  nor  a  branch  of  a 
spiritual  laundry  where  a  soul  is  bleached  white  cheaply 
for  its  own  monetary  advantage.  Naturally,  no  mere 
man  is  perfect,  but  I  take  it  that,  when  a  person  comes 
forward  voluntarily  to  join  the  body  of  believers,  he  is 
prompted  by  the  desire  to  seek  after  the  highest  ideals 
of  the  human  soul,  and  to  deepen  what  knowledge  he 
may  have  of  the  secrets  of  the  life  of  faith  intensely 
centered  on  the  love  of  Christ,  and  that,  though  perhaps 
he  could  not  utter  his  creed  in  words,  he  is  ready  to 
manifest  it  in  acts  of  obedience  to  the  Master's  will,  and 
of  loving  service  among  his  fellows.  Nevertheless,  none 
should  be  permitted  to  go  forward  into  that  communion 
without  knowledge;  and  some  require  careful  training 
in  the  simple  essentials  of  Christian  belief. 

For  myself,  following  the  custom  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  I  ask  no  communicants  to  sign  any  statement 
of  their  belief.  Of  course,  any  who  have  not  been  bap- 
tized have  to  declare  their  faith  explicitly  then;  as  they 
must  be  baptized  Christians  ere  they  become  sharers  in 
the  disciples'  feast  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  I  teach 
those  who  desire  to  join  the  Church  the  elements  of 

[404] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Christianity,  the  meaning  of  a  sacrament,  and  the  out- 
lines of  Christian  duty,  in  that  broad  sense  and  power 
which  must  follow  from  the  idea  of  living  and  doing 
"for  Christ's  sake."  The  course  of  teaching  extends 
over  six  weeks.  The  questions  and  answers  are  taken 
from  the  Shorter  Catechism  of  the  Westminster  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Divines ;  and  they  admirably  embody 
the  necessary  principles  of  the  Protestant  faith. 

To  my  mind,  the  fundamental  working  theology  of 
any  church  which  is  to  be  effective  in  uplifting  men  must 
contain  the  following: 

That  God  is  One: 

That  he  is  a  spiritual  God: 

That  nothing  which  man  has  made,  or  which  man 
can  fetch,  buy,  or  carry  can  be  God: 

That  he  is  a  holy  God : 

That  the  descending  arc  of  his  being  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  ascending  arc  of  man's  richest  as- 
pirations, entering  life  through  his  working  days, 
touching  and  hallowing  the  resolutions  of  the 
fireside,  and  the  field  of  the  soul  and  the  body's 
purity,  of  the  property,  character,  and  good  name 
of  every  man,  everywhere,  whether  or  not  the 
human  individual  know  it,  as  yet: 

That  nothing  of  human  pride,  arrogance  of  ecclesi- 
astic, or  tyranny  of  the  powerful,  can  come  be- 
tween the  soul  and  God: 

That  God  is  the  great  Optimist — ^the  eternal  Never- 
Despairer: 

That  he  is  not  sectarian: 

That  heaven  cannot  be  interpreted  in  terms  of 
ecclesiastical  denominations : 

[  405  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

That  his  love  is  all-enfolding: 

That  the  incarnation,  and  the  activity  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  are  the  utterance  and  declaration  of  his 
eternal  hope  and  eternal  pity  for  mankind: 

That  we  do  not  see  here,  meantime,  the  final  horizon 
of  human  effort  and  human  destiny : 

And  that  whatever  is  sufficiently  proved  in  regard  to 
nature  and  the  human  soul  must  be  held  as  a 
truth  of  the  spirit  and  of  the  spiritual  world 
likewise. 

In  our  Highlands  in  Scotland,  among  the  Gaelic 
folks  and  their  descendants,  the  communion  table  is 
looked  upon  with  something  like  absolute  dread,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  concentration  of  teaching  upon  the  Paul- 
ine warning,  of  "eating  and  drinking  judgment  to 
themselves."  The  regretful  reply  given  by  the  people, 
when  they  are  remonstrated  with  for  rejection  of  com- 
munion opportunities  is,  "I  am  not  good  enough  to  join 
the  Church" — the  idea  being  that  only  the  perfect  can 
sit  down  with  Christ.  Of  course,  if  only  the  perfect  are 
to  go  heavenward,  it  will  not  be  an  inconveniently 
crowded  road.  It  is,  meanwhile,  in  those  districts,  an 
insurmountable  obstacle,  but  arising  not  from  the  ques- 
tion of  acceptance  or  refusal  of  confession,  but  from  the 
fear  of  judgment  upon  rash  imperfection  of  human 
nature  daring  to  intrude  upon  the  board  of  Christ.  At 
the  same  time  this  very  attitude  begets  in  many  the 
most  curse-laden  hypocrisy  and  oppression  of  spiritual 
pride,  which  are  much  intensified  by  the  crude  misinter- 
pretation of  the  doctrine  of  election,  which  makes  cer- 
tain men  hold  as  a  maxim  of  practical  religion  that  it 
does  not  matter  what  you  do,  so  long  as  you  think  that 

[406] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

you  believe  certain  dogmas  printed  in  a  creed.     All 
which  is  for  misery,  despair,  and  failure. 

I  must  admit  that  I  find  a  shrinking  fear  in  many, 
as  from  an  ordeal  unknown,  at  the  early  interviews  with 
them  in  the  preparatory  class;  but  they  seem,  without 
exception,  to  enter  into  a  glad  union  with  such  teaching, 
and  see  anew  the  meaning  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity, 
and  a  life  beyond,  entering  with  fresh  courage  into  the 
Christian  enterprise. 


[407] 


THE  REV.  JAMES  MORRIS  WHITON,  Ph.D., 

NEW    YORK^   N.    Y. 

Chairman  of  Executive  Committee  of  the  New  York  State 
Conference  of  Religion  since  1899;  born  at  Boston,  April 
11,  1833;  graduated  at  Yale;  ordained  to  the  Congrega- 
tional ministry,  1 865 ;  rector  of  Hopkins  Grammar  School, 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  1854-64;  pastor  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  1865- 
75;  principal  of  Williston  Seminary,  Easthampton,  Mass., 
1876-78;  pastor  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  1879-85;  New  York, 
1886-91;  professor  of  ethics  at  Meadville  (Pa.)  Theologi- 
cal School,  1893-94;  on  staff  of  The  Outlook  since  1896; 
pastor  at  Haworth,  N.  J.,  1898-1901;  author  of  Select 
Orations  of  Lysias;  Is  Eternal  Punishment  Endless?;  Six 
Weeks'  Preparation  for  Reading  Caesar;  Auxilia  Vergil- 
iana;  Beyond  the  Shadow,  or  the  Gospel  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion; The  Evolution  of  Revelation;  Early  Pupils  of  the 
Spirit;  Three  Months'  Preparation  for  Reading  Xeno- 
phon;  The  Divine  Satisfaction;  Turning -Points  of 
Thought  and  Conduct;  The  Law  of  Liberty;  New  Points 
to  Old  Texts;  What  of  Samuel?;  Gloria  Patri,  or  Talks 
on  the  Trinity;  Reconsiderations  and  Re  enforcements; 
Miracles  and  Supernatural  Religion;  Interludes  in  a  Time 
of  Change;  Getting  Together,  Essays  by  Friends  in 
Council. 

WHAT  AILS   THE   CHURCH? 

Far  the  larger  part  of  the  present  large  indifference 
to  the  Church  must  be  accounted  for  on  moral  rather 
than  theological  grounds.  The  ethics  of  the  religion 
of  Christ  has  long  failed  of  due  emphasis,  while  stress 
has  been  laid  on  the  creeds  of  post-apostolic  orthodoxy. 
In  consequence  of  this  lowering  of  the  moral  tone 
of  the  Church  to  a  level  not  generally  above  the  cus- 
tomary morals  of  good  people  outside,  the  wave  of 
scientific  materialism  that  inundated  the  last  third  of  the 

[408] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

nineteenth  century,  though  now  receding,  has  left  a 
wide  deposit  of  indifference  to  religion.  Its  effects  are 
seen  in  a  moral  deterioration,  the  outstanding  symptoms 
of  which  are  an  exaggerated  and  lawless  individualism, 
and  an  appalling  frequency  of  homicide  and  suicide. 

Wherever  there  is  ethical  breadth  and  passion  in  the 
pulpit,  it  matters  little  whether  the  theology  back  of  it 
is  medieval  or  modern.  Orthodox  and  liberal  seem  to 
"draw,"  neck-and-neck. 

But  the  long  indifference  of  the  Church  to  misgov- 
ernment,  mammonism,  and  social  injustice,  together 
with  its  greater  zeal  in  combating  theological  innovations 
by  heresy  trials  than  moral  delinquency  by  strict  disci- 
pline, has  entailed  the  disesteem  everywhere  incurred  by 
the  inefficient.  Though  the  cause  is  abating,  the  effect 
is  likely  to  continue,  at  least  for  the  present  generation. 
Were  the  church  and  pulpit  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
this  year  to  become  the  prevailing  type,  multitudes 
would  still  say,  "What  is  there  in  it  for  us?"  and  would 
prefer  the  labor  meeting  and  the  Sunday  theatre,  or 
golfing  and  automobiling,  to  the  assembly  for  public 
worship. 

The  full  pews  of  Roman  Catholics  are  still  an  object 
of  wonder  and  envy  to  Protestants.  Yet  many  churches 
are  now  unbuilt  because  of  the  millions  that  have  lost 
fear  of  Rome's  claim  to  hold  the  keys  of  heaven,  and 
have  broken  from  her  pale  to  join  the  host  of  the  im- 
churched. 

Professor  and  Senator  Davenport,  in  his  volume  on 
Primitive  Traits  in  Religious  Revivals,  reminds  us  that 
"we  are  civilized  and  barbarous  at  the  same  time.  We 
have  millions  of  primitive  black  men,  and  more  millions 
of  primitive  white  men,  both  native  and  foreign-born." 

[  409  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Thus  much  for  diagnosis  of  the  present  situation. 
Now,  well-squared  with  all  modern  knowledge  as  the- 
ology may  become,  and  however  the  ministration  of  the 
Church  to  all  human  needs  may  approximate  to  the 
ideals  of  Christ,  the  lapsed  multitudes  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  return  to  her  in  any  large  measure  till  they 
become  conscious  of  a  religious  need  which  nothing  but 
Christ's  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  can  satisfy.  "When 
thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
world  learn  righteousness."  The  fruitful  work  of  the 
Christian  Commission  in  the  Union  army  and  the  re- 
ligious revivals  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the 
Civil  War  are  a  significant  commentary  on  that  proph- 
ecy of  Isaiah  for  a  time  of  social  agony,  whose  recur- 
rence now  begins  to  be  foreboded  by  fearsome  seers. 
Timely,  indeed,  and  hopeful  it  is  that  the  socializing  of 
religion  according  to  the  moral  ideals  of  Christ  has  al- 
ready begun  to  redeem  the  time  of  evil  days,  and  with 
it  is  going  the  modernizing  of  a  hopelessly  antiquated 
theology. 

On  these  parallel  lines  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  now 
impelling  the  Church's  return  toward  her  primitive 
evangelical  ideal — a  working  faith  in  faithful  working: 
the  one  in  the  simplicity  of  Christ's  address  to  heart  and 
conscience,  the  other  in  the  self-devotedness  of  Christ's 
ministries  to  sinning  and  suffering  humanity;  the  faith 
justifying  itself  by  its  works,  and  the  works  perfecting 
the  faith.  Written  out,  the  credenda  of  such  a  faith  will 
be  few,  but  all  vital ;  its  agenda  many,  but  all  essential — 
thus  restoring  the  long  upset  balance  between  the  the- 
ological and  the  ethical.  In  the  combination  of  these  two 
is  the  real  "summa  theologice/'  as  distinct  from  that  of 
scholastic  doctors — the  sum  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as 

[410] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

spiritually  experienced  and  applied,  rather  than  as  in- 
tellectually apprehended. 

Only  thus  can  the  modern  Church  begin  to  realize 
the  vision  of  ancient  prophecy:  "Arise,  shine;  for  thy 
light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lobd  is  risen  upon 
thee." 


[411] 


ANDREW  C.  ZENOS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

CHICAGO,   ILL. 

Professor  of  biblical  theology,  McCormick  Theological 
Seminary,  Chicago,  since  1894;  born  at  Constantinople, 
August  13,  1855;  graduated  from  Robert  College,  Con- 
stantinople, 1872;  Princeton,  1880  (A.M.,  D.D.) ;  pastor 
of  Presbyterian  Church,  Brandt,  Pa.,  1881-83;  professor 
of  Greek,  Lake  Forest  University,  1883-88;  professor  of 
New  Testament  exegesis,  Hartford  Theological  Seminary, 
1888-91;  professor  of  Church  history,  McCormick  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  1891-94;  author  of  Elements  of  Higher 
Criticism;  Compendium  of  Church  History;  The  Teach- 
ing of  Jesus  Concerning  Christian  Conduct, 

So  far  as  the  facts  are  concerned,  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  there  are  thousands  of  men  who  show  indifference 
to  the  claims  of  the  Church.  The  explanation,  however, 
is,  in  my  judgment,  not  as  simple  as  it  might  appear  at 
first  sight.  There  are  several  causes  which  conspire  to 
produce  this  indifference.  First  of  all,  the  changed  idea 
within  Protestantism  of  the  relation  of  the  Church  to 
personal  salvation  has  weakened  the  sense  of  obligation 
to  enter  into  its  organized  life.  As  long  as  it  was  sup- 
posed that  outside  the  Church  there  was  no  salvation, 
men  identified  themselves  with  the  Church  as  a  matter 
of  course.  But  since  it  is  generally  understood  that  a 
man  may  be  a  good  Christian  and  not  a  member  of  any 
organized  body  of  Christians,  the  necessity  of  joining 
an  organization  does  not  present  itself  as  vividly.  In 
fact  a  certain  sense  of  independence  and  freedom  in  the 
expression  of  one's  Christian  life  compensates  the  man 
who  declines  or  neglects  to  affiliate  himself  with  any  of 
the  branches  of  the  Church. 

[412] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

In  another  way  the  relation  of  the  individual  mem- 
ber to  the  Church  is  misunderstood  by  many.  The  case 
you  cite,  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  illustrates  this  misunder- 
standing quite  clearly.  He  professed  himself  willing 
to  join  any  church  which  made  its  sole  qualification  for 
membership  the  short  restatement  by  Jesus  of  the  sub- 
stance of  both  law  and  gospel.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
in  his  day  the  denominations  defined  conditions  of  church 
membership  more  rigidly  than  they  do  now.  At  the 
present  day,  I  daresay,  there  are  Christian  churches  of 
the  evangelical  type  which  would  accept  his  willingness 
to  affiliate  himself  and  work  with  "any  body  of  Chris- 
tians" on  the  basis  he  proposed  as  a  credible  evidence  of 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  would  admit  him  to  their  mem- 
bership. Those  who  withhold  their  allegiance  from  the 
Christian  Church  of  to-day  on  the  same  ground  are 
certainly  laboring  under  a  misapprehension. 

The  remedy  for  the  unfortunate  loss  of  such  persons 
to  the  Church  must  be  mainly  the  enlightenment  of  the 
minds  of  those  who  are  making  the  above  mistake.  Pro- 
gressiveness  in  theological  definition,  the  relating  of  doc- 
trinal statements  to  the  current  literary,  historical,  sci- 
entific and  philosophical  views  will  greatly  help.  So 
would  also  a  simplification  of  all  official  creeds  by  the 
churches  somewhat  in  line  with  Dr.  Denney's  sugges- 
tion in  the  concluding  chapter  of  his  Jesus  and  the  Gos- 
pel/' *  But  after  all  the  main  effort  must  be  toward 
getting  men  to  understand  what  the  Church  is,  what  it 
requires  of  its  members,  and  what  it  aims  to  accomplish. 

*See  p.  209. 


[413] 


GROUP  THREE 


[415] 


ALEXANDER  FRANCIS  CHAMBERLAIN, 

Ph.D., 

WORCESTEE^   MASS. 

Professor  of  anthropology  at  Clark  University;  born  at 
Kenninghall,  England,  Jan.  12,  1865;  graduated  from 
Toronto  (Can.)  University,  1886;  corresponding  member 
of  the  Instituto  de  Coimbra,  Portugal,  Sociedad  de  Folk- 
Lore  Chileno  (Santiago),  and  Societe  des  Americanistes 
(Paris) ;  editor  of  the  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 
1900-8;  co-editor  of  Current  Anthropological  Literature, 
also,  since  1912,  of  the  Journal  of  Religious  Psychology; 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  City  Committee,  1904-5; 
author  of  Child  and  Childhood  in  Folk  Thought;  The 
Child — A  Study  in  the  Evolution  of  Man;  Poems, 

There  can  be  no  possible  doubt  of  the  existence  to-day 
of  a  widespread  dissatisfaction  with  the  Church,  its 
teachings,  its  attitudes,  its  methods,  its  ideas,  and  its 
ideals.  This  dissatisfaction  ranges  over  all  classes  of 
society,  from  the  most  ignorant  to  the  most  intelligent, 
and  finds  expression  among  men  and  women  of  all 
temperaments  and  all  dispositions;  and  the  criticisms 
heard  involve  all  denominations,  being,  moreover,  not 
confined  to  any  one  particular  aspect  of  so-called  Chris- 
tian belief  or  practise.  The  idea  that  "something  is 
wrong  with  the  Church"  is  in  the  air,  and  nothing  that 
the  Church  itself  has  done  of  recent  years  seems  to  have 
met  the  situation  in  anything  like  a  satisfying  or  a  con- 
clusive manner. 

The  question  cannot,  it  seems  to  me,  be  settled  in 
the  very  simple  fashion  suggested  by  the  well-known 
declaration    of    Abraham    Lincoln.      Lincoln    said: 

[417] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

"Whenever  any  church  will  inscribe  over  its  altar,  as 
its  sole  qualification  for  membership,  the  Saviour's  con- 
densed statement  of  the  substance  of  both  law  and  gos- 
pel, *Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  Church  I  will  join  with 
all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul."  I  was  present,  as  a  dele- 
gate, at  Saratoga,  in  1895,  when,  in  a  moment  of  the 
greatest  religious  enthusiasm  and  devotion  of  the  rarest 
sort,  the  National  Conference  of  Unitarian  and  Other 
Christian  Churches  adopted  the  following  statement  of 
its  basis  for  religious  fellowship:  "These  churches  ac- 
cept the  religion  of  Jesus,  holding,  in  accordance  with 
his  teaching,  that  practical  religion  is  summed  up  in 
love  to  God  and  love  to  man."  This  would  have  satis- 
fied Mr.  Lincoln. 

But,  since  that  simple  declaration  was  made,  no 
Lincolns  have  come  into  the  Unitarian  fold  by  virtue  of 
it  alone,  nor  are  the  churches  of  that  particular  denom- 
ination in  any  greater  danger  of  being  always  crowded 
to  the  doors.  And,  more  than  this,  we  have  lately  seen 
a  Unitarian  president  of  the  United  States,  whose  ad- 
ministration was  so  inconsequent  and  so  unsatisfactory 
that  he  was  practically  driven  from  ofiice  by  a  popular 
revolt  at  the  ballot-box,  succeeded  by  an  orthodox 
Presbyterian  giving  voice  to  a  gospel  of  justice.  Some 
of  the  worst  politicians  New  England  has  had,  since 
1895,  have  been  Unitarians;  and  on  the  roll  of  those 
Senators  of  the  United  States  who  voted  to  retain  Mr. 
Lorimer  of  Illinois  as  a  member  of  their  honorable  body 
Unitarianism  was  duly  represented.  A  study  of  the 
correlation  of  theological  beliefs  and  political  practises, 
in  the  United  States  alone,  reveals  one  difiiculty,  at 

[418] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

least,  facing  the  Church,  viz.,  the  lack  of  consistent  moral 
honesty.  Men  and  women  of  sincere  ethical  beliefs  and 
upright  personal  conduct  must,  and  do,  hesitate  to  ac- 
cept membership  in,  and  assume  responsibility  for,  an 
institution  such  as  is  the  Church  to-day — often  below 
their  own  standards  of  life,  real  and  ideal.  They  firmly 
believe  that,  if  its  case  is  to  be  won,  the  Church  must 
come  into  court  with  clean  hands.  They  feel,  too,  and 
their  experience  convinces  them  of  the  truth  associated 
with  such  feeling,  that,  by  joining  the  Church,  they  are 
actually,  in  many  cases,  limiting,  or  even  minimizing  to 
a  very  large  extent,  their  power  for  good.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  by  any  simple  declaration  of  faith,  covering 
"essentials"  merely,  or  avoiding  all  matters  of  a  doubt- 
ful or  a  controversial  nature,  that  the  Church  can  make 
sure  of  the  future. 

Nor  can  it  justify  itself  by  works.  Some  churches 
have  taken  that  other  simple  declaration  of  the  essence 
of  religion,  and  made  of  it  almost  a  twentieth-century 
fetish:  "And  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but 
to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly 
with  thy  God?"  The  Church  has  become  a  charitable 
institution,  a  social  center,  a  community  laboratory,  a 
psychic  hospital,  a  people's  forum,  etc.  To  the  audi- 
torium have  been  added  kitchens  and  restaurants,  dance- 
halls  and  theaters,  smoking-clubs  and  gymnasiums, 
bowling-alleys  and  boxing-parlors,  golf-links  and  roof- 
gardens,  hospitals  and  clinics,  and  many  other  stranger 
things.  The  minister  has  "branched  out,"  too.  In  ad- 
dition to  being  an  interpreter  of  the  religious  instincts 
of  the  race,  he  has  been  required  to  be  a  first-class  after- 
dinner  speaker  and  raconteur,  a  "jolly  smoker,"  a  base- 
ball "fan,"  a  dog-fancier,  a  connoisseur  of  horses  (or  of 

[419] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

automobiles,  as  the  case  may  be),  an  exponent  of  the 
"strenuous  life"  in  some  form  or  other,  a  devotee  of 
athletics,  an  amateur  farmer,  a  scout-master,  a  Cook's 
tourists'  guide,  etc.  Or,  he  may  exhibit  himself  before 
the  public  as  janitor,  furnace-tender,  painter,  shingler, 
or  what  not,  of  his  own  church  building.  But  neither  the 
"institutional  church,"  nor  the  "socialized  minister"  can 
really  stand  for  the  Church  of  the  future.  The  out-of- 
the-Church  public  are  already  beginning  to  call  a  halt 
in  this  matter,  and  the  preacher  who  is  so  conspicuously 
and  so  notoriously  "something  else  besides  a  minister" 
seldom  sees  in  the  pews  before  him  some  of  the  very  men 
and  women  whom  he  is  most  desirous  of  having  join 
his  church,  and  to  whom  he  extends  the  most  cordial 
invitation  possible. 

The  minister  who  is  "too  much  of  something  else," 
however,  has  an  equally  guilty  brother  in  the  one  who  is 
"too  much  of  a  minister."  He  is  still  found  in  all  de- 
nominations; even  intellectual  Unitarianism  knows  him 
well.  He  overestimates  the  role  of  the  minister  in  mod- 
ern society  and  overemphasizes  the  sanctity  of  the  pul- 
pit, often  putting  up  a  "No  trespass"  sign  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  laymen  of  his  congregation.  He  is  sometimes 
so  "ministerial"  that  even  the  children,  from  whom  the 
ranks  of  church-members  must  necessarily  be  largely 
recruited,  often  fall  foul  of  him,  with  more  or  less  justi- 
fication. He  often  gives  cause  for  the  complaint  that 
the  Church  is  suffering  from  "too  much  minister."  In- 
stead of  inviting  the  scientific  expert,  on  perfectly  equal 
terms  with  himself,  to  speak  from  the  pulpit,  and  with 
the  authority  that  goes  with  it,  to  the  full  congregation, 
he  is  content  to  ask  him  to  "address"  the  Men's  Club, 
the  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  or  some  other  minor  and  usual- 

[420] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ly  poorly  attended  gathering,  meeting  often  at  the  noon- 
hour,  right  after  church,  or  at  some  other  rather  incon- 
venient time.  He,  himself,  does  not  hesitate  to  interpret 
from  the  pulpit  James's  psychology,  the  Darwinian 
theory,  prehistoric  man,  the  domestication  of  animals, 
Peruvian  art,  and  a  hundred  other  topics,  from  all 
over  the  realm  of  science,  often  erring  most  egre- 
giously,  both  in  arguments  and  in  conclusions  reached. 
The  minister  is  now  no  longer  the  only  learned  man  in 
the  community,  and  there  is  really  no  reason  why,  in- 
stead of  being  a  good  minister,  he  should  succeed  in  be- 
ing rather  a  poor  anthropologist,  psychologist,  sociolo- 
gist, biologist,  or  other  representative  of  the  sciences. 
He  should  call  to  his  aid,  in  these  instances,  if  such 
things  must  be  taught  from  the  pulpit,  experts,  who  are 
authorities  upon  the  topics  in  question,  and  who  are  able 
to  discuss  them  rightly  and  intelligently.  Before  the 
Church  of  the  future  can  be  firmly  established,  a  natural 
and  sympathetic  cooperation  between  the  minister  and 
the  competent  layman  must  be  inaugurated.  This  is 
one  of  the  crying  needs  of  the  present  unsatisfactory  sit- 
uation in  which  the  Church  unfortunately  finds  itself. 

Both  by  his  own  personal  experience  and  by  reason 
of  a  rather  wide  acquaintance,  as  a  man  of  science,  with 
the  facts  of  the  religious  history  of  mankind,  the  writer 
is  convinced  that  the  function  of  the  Church  of  the 
future  will  not  lie  in  the  outre  direction  of  the  exploita- 
tion of  social  activities,  the  assumption  of  the  services 
and  the  responsibilities  of  charitable  institutions,  hos- 
pitals and  clinics  (physical  or  mental),  curative  and 
pleasure-giving  establishments  of  all  sorts,  "social  lab- 
oratories," or  anything  of  the  special  nature  of  the  pres- 
ent so-called  "institutional  church"  and  its  numerous 

[421] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  ^lND  THE  lA.GE 

i 

imitations.  The  true  function  of  the  Church  is  the 
study,  the  interpretation,  and  the  preservation  of  the 
religious  instincts  of  the  human  race  as  such,  and  the  giv- 
ing of  them  effective  expression  in  the  larger  and  deeper 
life  of  the  individual,  the  community  and  the  nation. 
It  is  now  generally  conceded  that  man  has  possessed 
the  religious  instinct  from  the  very  beginnings  of  the 
race,  that  it  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  characteristics  which 
have  always  distinguished  him  as  man  per  se,  one  of  his 
traits  having  an  independence  and  autonomy  of  its  own, 
the  one  whose  alliance  with  his  own  conscience  and  grow- 
ing personality  has  made  him  in  all  ages  of  human 
history  the  overcomer  and  the  refiner  of  heredity,  the 
subjugator  and  the  controller  of  environment,  that 
which,  as  long  as  the  world  stands,  will  demonstrate  the 
fallacy  of  the  "economic  theory"  of  the  life  of  man  and 
prove,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  religion  is  and  always  has 
been  a  factor  of  supreme  importance  in  dictating  the 
survival  of  the  race. 

The  pathway  of  the  Church  in  the  future  lies  in 
larger  and  sincerer  recognition  of  religion  per  se,  in 
this  higher  and  truly  evolutional  sense,  in  full  allegiance 
to  the  spiritual  and  creative  ideals  which  it  represents, 
and  not  in  weak  or  craven  surrender  to  passing  social 
fads,  or  transient  materialism,  even  though  these 
mask  themselves  under  the  armor  of  God.  And 
the  minister  of  the  Church  of  the  future  must  be  ever 
nearer  the  seer  and  the  prophet  than  the  successful  pew- 
filler  or  the  favorite  of  very  substantial  society  folk. 
With  such  ministers,  and  a  Church  like  this,  the  future 
of  religion  will  be  assured,  as  it  can  never  be  by  any 
declaration  of  faith  that  will  please  everybody  or  any 
program  of  works  that  will  satisfy  all.     The  Church 

[422] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

can  never  have,  if  it  be  true  to  itself,  any  other  rightful 
function  than  that  of  interpreting  the  religious  instincts 
of  mankind.  In  this  are  summed  up  its  raison  d'etre, 
its  goal^  and  its  achievements. 


[423] 


FRANK  WIGGLESWORTH  CLARKE,  D.Sc, 

LL.D., 

WASHINGTON^   D.   C. 

Chief  chemist  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  and 
honorary  curator  of  minerals  of  the  United  States  National 
Museum  since  1883;  born  in  Boston,  March  19,  1847;  re- 
ceived his  education  at  Lawrence  Scientific  School  (Har- 
vard), and  honorary  degrees  from  Columbian,  Manchester, 
and  Aberdeen  Universities;  instructor  at  Cornell,  1869; 
professor  of  chemistry,  Howard  University,  Washington, 
1873-74;  professor  of  chemistry  and  physics.  University  of 
Cincinnati,  1874-83;  author  of  Weights,  Measures,  and 
Money  of  All  Nations;  Elements  of  Chemistry;  Constants 
of  Nature;  Report  on  the  Teaching  of  Chemistry  and 
Physics  in  the  United  States;  Elementary  Chemistry; 
Manual  of  Elementary  Chemistry;  also  Data  of  Geochem- 
istry and  other  bulletins  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey. 

NOTES   ON   CHURCHGOING 

Why  do  people  stay  away  from  Church?  This  ques- 
tion is  not  easy  to  answer,  for  no  general  answer  is  pos- 
sible. The  motives  which  influence  one  man  are  not 
those  which  affect  another.  The  fear  of  everlasting 
perdition,  the  selfish  anxiety  for  personal  salvation,  no 
longer  carry  the  weight  that  they  did  formerly,  and  so 
the  power  of  one  class  of  churches  is  greatly  diminished. 
If  hell  is  frozen  over,  why  worry  about  it?  Let  us  en- 
joy Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest  and  recreation,  and  the  fu- 
ture can  take  care  of  itself.  So  reason,  perhaps  to  some 
extent  unconsciously,  one  class  of  minds,  but  others 
argue  differently.  Why  go  to  church  to  hear  outgrown 
ideas  continually  rehashed,  with  little  said  that  bears 
directly  upon  every-day  duties  and  every-day  life?    Tell 

[424] 


Paiil  W.  Schmiedel 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

us  how  to  be  better,  how  to  make  the  community  in 
which  we  live  better,  and  so  give  to  preaching  a  prac- 
tical efBciency  which  it  too  often  lacks.  Do  that,  and 
there  will  be  no  scarcity  of  hearers.  Music,  vestments, 
candles,  and  incense  may  attract  the  sensuous  and  un- 
thinking, but  they  count  for  little  with  earnest  and 
thoughtful  men.  As  concrete  symbols  for  those  who 
cannot  grasp  the  purely  spiritual  conceptions  of  re- 
ligion they  may  be  helpful;  but  only  so  long  as  they  are 
not  taken  too  seriously.  If  they  obscure  or  replace  the 
essentials  of  religion  they  are  mischievous,  and  may  even 
provoke  the  indifference  of  which  some  churches  com- 
plain. Religious  services  may  be  beautiful,  but  unless 
there  is  something  deeper  than  beauty  in  them,  some- 
thing that  is  not  merely  skin-deep,  their  influence  on  the 
community  will  be  slight.  The  still,  small  voice  must 
be  heard,  and  it  must  speak  with  all  sincerity.  The  con- 
ventional  repetition  of  a  creed  in  which  preacher  and 
congregation  only  partially  believe,  is  hardly  conducive 
to  intellectual  honesty.  Absence  from  church  is  far  less 
harmful  than  an  insincere  attendance,  or  attendance  for 
frivolous  reasons.  Churchgoing  for  the  sake  of  social 
advancement  is  by  no  means  meritorious.  Because  a 
church  is  fashionable  is  no  good  reason  for  attending  it. 
Absolute  sincerity  is  the  only  safe  foundation  upon 
which  worship  can  be  based.  A  religion  with  mental 
reservations  is  dishonest. 

Between  science  and  religion  there  is  no  real  quarrel; 
but  science  and  ecclesiastical  authority  have  often  been 
at  odds.  To  the  man  of  science  there  is  no  authority 
save  that  of  the  truth,  and  his  search  for  the  truth  can- 
not be  obstructed  by  any  theological  walls.  If  he  is 
asked  to  believe  a  doctrine  he  must  be  free  to  examine 

[  425  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

it  to  its  very  foundations,  and  so  to  satisfy  himself  that 
it  is  entitled  to  belief.  No  Hebrew  or  Babylonian  tra- 
ditions can  be  permitted  to  stand  in  his  way.  Astron- 
omy, geology,  biology,  and  archeology  are  not  subject 
to  the  authority  of  any  church. 

To  attract  the  scientific  thinker  the  churches  must 
get  rid  of  all  the  dead  wood  that  now  hampers  their 
growth.  The  teachings  of  Jesus  could  be  accepted  by 
a  man  like  Lincoln,  to  whom  only  the  essentials  ap- 
pealed, but  the  overload  of  theology  repelled  him.  That 
overload,  to  speak  fairly  of  the  churches,  was  assumed 
naturally  enough,  and  doubtless  unconsciously.  At  first 
the  followers  of  Jesus  were  simple  monotheists,  who 
expected  the  return  of  the  Master  while  they  were  yet 
alive,  to  establish  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  As 
they  spread  beyond  the  confines  of  Palestine,  carrying 
their  message  of  peace  and  good-will  to  the  Gentiles, 
they  came  into  contact  with  paganism  of  various  types, 
Egyptian,  Greek,  or  Roman,  gaining  converts  who 
could  not  quite  rid  themselves  of  all  their  old  beliefs  and 
habits  of  thought.  To  these  converts  the  conception  of 
one  Supreme  Being  was  intelligible,  but  the  minor 
deities  were  missing.  In  their  place,  then,  a  multitude 
of  saints  was  provided,  mediators  between  God  and 
man,  to  whom  prayers  could  be,  and  still  are,  oflfered. 
A  Queen  of  heaven  was  also  wanted,  and  to  fill  that 
place  the  ex-pagan  converts  took  the  pathetic  figure  of 
Mary;  a  transmutation  which  the  humble  carpenter's 
wife  could  never  have  imagined.  These  absorptions 
from  paganism  were  not  intentional,  not  carefully 
thought  out,  neither  were  they  at  first  universal.  The 
early  Christians  divided  into  sects,  but  that  one  which 
offered  the  largest  compromise  with  the  lower  faiths, 

[426] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  line  of  least  resistance  to  conversion,  became  domi- 
nant and  overwhelmed  the  others.  This  interpretation  of 
history  is  not  fanciful,  for  the  same  process  is  going  on 
to-day.  Tribes  of  American  Indians  are  outwardly  and 
professedly  Christians,  but  practise  on  proper  occasions 
their  old  rites  secretly.  The  inherited  beliefs  of  cen- 
turies cannot  be  cast  aside  like  an  old  suit  of  clothes. 
Their  fossil  remains  are  still  to  be  found  imbedded  in 
the  new  religion. 

To  such  a  jumble  of  beliefs  the  true  scientific  thinker 
cannot  easily  subscribe.  It  is,  moreover,  complicated 
with  appeals  to  the  miraculous,  which  makes  acceptance 
still  more  diflScult.  A  faith  in  the  orderliness  of  nature 
is  fundamental  to  science,  and  not  to  be  disturbed  except 
by  such  overwhelming  evidence  as  has  never  yet  been 
provided.  Before  the  vast  miracle  of  the  universe,  and 
the  unfathomable  mystery  of  existence,  all  special 
miracles,  if  such  were  possible,  would  seem  trivial  and 
meaningless. 

What,  then,  remains  for  the  churches  to  do?  That 
question  is  easier  asked  than  answered,  but  one  thing 
seems  clear.  They  must  adapt  themselves  to  the  needs 
and  aspirations  of  to-day,  they  must  willingly  accept  all 
new  knowledge,  and  use  as  a  basis  for  preaching  the 
simple  ethics  of  Jesus,  with  the  great  conceptions  of  the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man.  Jesus, 
perhaps,  held  up  unattainable,  or  at  least  rarely  at- 
tained ideals,  but  what  of  that?  How  many  Christians 
take  no  thought  for  the  morrow?  How  many,  when 
smitten  on  one  cheek,  turn  the  other?  How  many  of 
the  well-to-do  sell  all  they  have  and  give  to  the  poor? 
Few,  very  few!  But  the  ideals  still  hold  as  something 
toward  which  humanity  can  move,  even  though  they 

[427] 


THE  CHUPCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

should  never  be  completely  realized.  Love,  charity,  and 
righteousness  are  themes  on  which  all  churches  can 
agree,  and  which  need  no  meretricious  aid  from  the 
miraculous.  If  men  can  be  led  to  do  their  best  in  this 
world  they  need  have  no  anxiety  about  the  next. 


[428] 


CHARLES  BENEDICT  DAVENPORT,  Ph.D., 

COLD  SPRING  HARBOR,  LONG  ISLAND^  N.  Y. 

Director  of  the  Station  for  Experimental  Evolution  (of 
the  Carnegie  Institution)  since  1904;  director  of  the  Bi- 
ological Laboratory  of  the  Brooklyn  Institute  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  since  1898;  born  at  Stamford,  Conn.,  June  1, 
1866;  studied  at  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  Brooklyn,  and 
at  Harvard  University;  surveying  engineer  of  the  Duluth, 
South  Shore  and  Atlantic  Railway,  1886-87;  assistant  in 
zoology  at  Harvard,  1888-90;  and  instructor,  1891-99; 
assistant  professor  of  zoology  and  embryology.  University 
of  Chicago,  1899-1901;  and  associate  professor  and  cura- 
tor of  the  Zoological  Museum,  1901-4;  organizer  and  trus- 
tee of  the  Eugenics  Record  Office;  associate  editor  of  the 
Journal  of  Experimental  Zoology  since  1898;  and  of  the 
American  Breeders*  Magazine  since  1910;  author  of  Grad- 
uate Courses — A  Handbook  for  Graduate  Courses;  Ex- 
perimental Morphology ;  Statistical  Methods  in  Biological 
Variation;  Introduction  to  Zoology;  Inheritance  in  Poul- 
try; Inheritance  of  Characteristics  of  Fowl;  Eugenics; 
Heredity  in  Relation  to  Eugenics, 

I  DO  not  see  how  anybody  can  keep  his  self-respect  and 
assert  his  belief  in  things  about  which  he  has  no  knowl- 
edge or  which  do  not  appear  to  him  to  be  reasonable. 

Until  further  instructed  I  doubt  if  there  is  any  uni- 
versal creed  possible,  because  the  different  races  of  men 
differ  so  fundamentally.  Just  as  a  dog  and  a  tiger  have 
a  "love  of  man,"  in  quite  different  senses,  so  the  social, 
gregarious  races  must,  from  their  nature,  hold  a  differ- 
ent relation  to  other  men  from  the  nomadic,  individ- 
ualistic peoples. 

In  a  highly  socialized  state  each  person  should  see 
the  necessity  of  providing  his  children  and  his  "neigh- 
bors" with  the  best  of  conditions  for  the  development  of 

[429] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

inhibitors  and,  in  general,  of  elevating  social  ideals,  and 
helping  to  achieve  the  highest  of  them.  As  social  beings 
we  have,  above  all,  to  work  for  the  common  weal,  and 
the  emotions  keep  us  responsive  to  social  needs. 

The  cultivation  of  the  emotions,  while  keeping  them 
under  the  control  of  reason  (where  reason  can  be  de- 
veloped) ;  the  education  of  the  emotions  to  replace  rea- 
son (where  the  latter  is  incapable  of  development) ;  the 
elevation  of  the  ideals  of  youth  by  example  and  precept ; 
the  dissemination  and  interpretation  of  the  best  thoughts 
of  the  centuries — these  are  the  functions  of  religion. 

I  would  agree  that  a  love  of  and  a  desire  for  socially 
"good"  conduct,  a  lively  altruism  and  a  well-developed 
system  of  inhibitors  should  be  our  common  aim — ^but 
then  I  have  come  from  stock  on  both  sides  that  was 
capable  of  highly  developed  inhibitions;  I  had  my  po- 
tentialities in  this  direction  fairly  well  cultivated;  and, 
naturally,  these  seem  an  attainable  good  to  me.  For 
others  these  may  not  be  the  highest  aim,  or  even  if  ac- 
cepted as  the  highest  aim,  it  is  a  hopelessly  unattainable 
one.  This  may  be  their  misfortune,  but  it  is  not  their 
fault. 


[430] 


GEORGE  ELLSWORTH  DAWSON,  Ph.D., 

SPRINGFIELD,   MASS. 

Professor  of  psychology  at  the  Hartford  School  of  Re- 
ligious Pedagogy  since  1902;  born  at  Berkeley  Springs, 
W.  Va.,  Dec.  23,  1861;  received  his  preparatory  education 
at  Mt.  Morris  (III.)  Academy  and  at  Carthage  (111.) 
College;  graduated  (A.B.)  from  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, 1887;  student  at  the  University  of  Leipsic,  Germany, 
1888-89;  fellow  at  Clark  University,  1895-97,  Ph.D.,  1897; 
principal  of  Oil  City  (Pa.)  High  School,  1889-91;  pro- 
fessor of  English  at  the  South  Dakota  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, 1891-93;  instructor  in  English  at  the  University  of 
Michigan,  1 893-95 ;  professor  of  psychology,  Bible  Normal 
College,  Springfield,  Mass.,  1897-1901 ;  head  of  the  history 
department  at  Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn,  1901-2;  professor 
of  education  at  Mt.  Holyoke  (Mass.)  College,  1903-8; 
author  of  The  Child  and  His  Religion;  The  Right  of  the 
Child  to  he  Well  Born, 

I  SEE  no  reason  why  the  Church  of  to-day  should  have 
any  formal  creed  at  all.  In  the  first  place,  no  church 
now  has  a  creed  in  which  a  majority  of  its  members  ac- 
tually believe.  So  far  as  I  can  see,  the  formal  creeds 
that  men  and  women  are  asked  to  assent  to  in  becoming 
members  of  churches  are  symbolic  of  religious  states  of 
mind  held  by  former  generations,  but  assented  to  by  the 
present  generation  only  in  a  passive  and  perfunctory 
manner,  and  not  with  any  active  participation  in  their 
meaning. 

This  being  the  case,  the  question  presents  itself  as 
to  whether  creeds  no  longer  believed  in  have  any  econ- 
omy in  the  life  of  the  Church  or  of  its  individual  mem- 
bers. I  believe  they  have  no  economy,  but,  rather,  a 
great  disadvantage.  They  interpose  a  barrier  between 
the  Church  and  all  those  minds  that  have  been  trained 

[431] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

in  ways  of  thinking  characteristic  of  our  generation. 
Young  men  and  women  coming  up  through  our  public 
schools  and  colleges  have  a  content  of  consciousness 
and  mental  habits  that  make  it  impossible  for  them  to 
believe  what  the  creeds  say  about  God,  the  world,  and 
the  human  soul.  If  they  are  honest  with  themselves, 
and  independent  in  their  judgment,  they  will  not  assent 
to  the  creeds ;  and  so  they  are  repelled  from  the  Church. 
This  accounts,  in  no  small  degree,  for  the  fact  that  the 
Church  of  the  present  time  has  increasing  difficulty  in 
winning  young  men  and  women  of  high  intellectual 
quality  to  its  membership. 

Should  we,  then,  rewrite  our  creeds,  so  as  to  bring 
them  within  the  comprehension  and  interests  of  the 
present  generation?  In  other  words,  recognizing  that 
existing  creeds  have  no  economy  in  the  life  of  the 
Church,  should  we  replace  them  with  other  creeds?  I 
believe  not.  The  present  order  of  human  consciousness 
does  not  need  a  formally  written  creed  to  define  its 
allegiance  to  the  Church.  It  needs,  to  be  sure,  a  no  less 
definite  body  of  beliefs  than  did  the  consciousness  of 
past  generations,  but  it  prefers  to  hold  this  body  of 
beliefs  as  a  private  and  individual  possession,  and  not  as 
a  public  and  ecclesiastical  profession  of  faith.  I  believe 
the  average  man  in  current  civilization,  if  he  were  asked 
to  give  an  opinion,  would  see  no  more  reason  for  assent- 
ing to  a  stereotyped  creed  year  after  year  in  his  religious 
life,  than  in  his  political,  educational,  or  social  life. 
Men  join  political  parties,  educational  movements, 
clubs,  and  other  social  organizations,  without  a  formal 
profession  of  faith  that  essays  to  define  for  them  the 
conditions  of  their  political,  educational,  or  social  status, 
and  to  fix  henceforth  the  limits  of  their  intelligence  and 

[432] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

personal  growth.  Platforms,  indeed,  they  may  have, 
statements  of  principles  and  aims,  but  nothing  ap- 
proaching the  character  of  the  religious  creed  they  are 
asked  to  give  their  assent  to  in  becoming  a  member  of 
the  Church. 

I  would  therefore  have  men  associate  together  re- 
ligiously in  the  same  way  they  otherwise  associate,  bound 
together  by  common  ideals,  purposes,  and  modes  of 
conduct.  I  should  like  to  say  to  my  own  children  and 
to  other  young  people:  "Come  with  me  and  identify 
yourself  consciously  with  those  who  are  trying  to  create 
a  divine  order  of  human  life  in  themselves  and  other 
men."  With  Lincoln,  I  would  inscribe  over  the  altars 
of  our  churches  the  words  of  Jesus:  "Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self"; and  I  would  welcome  every  man  and  woman  to 
our  fellowship  that  wanted  to  join  with  us  in  the  effort 
to  achieve  personal  worth  and  to  serve  the  world  of  men, 
under  the  stimulus  and  direction  of  that  command.  No 
formal  and  public  statement  of  what  such  a  man  or 
woman  believed,  would  be  required.  The  fact  that  they 
identified  themselves  with  the  forces  of  righteousness, 
and  sought  to  make  righteousness  the  law  of  their  own 
lives  and  the  lives  of  others,  would  be  evidence  of  be- 
liefs sufficiently  distinctive  to  make  them  followers  of 
him  who  did  not  write  creeds  but  lived  them. 

As  to  the  fundamental  basis  and  direction  of  mod- 
ern theology,  it  seems  to  me  clear  that  these  must  be  de- 
termined by  the  content  of  the  modern  consciousness. 
The  older  theologies  were  fashioned  from  certain  con- 
ceptions of  the  world-order  and  of  man's  life.  The  new 
theology  will  inevitably  be  fashioned  from  the  concep- 

[433] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

tions  of  the  world-order  and  of  man's  life  that  are 
now  held.  These  conceptions  are  the  outgrowth  of 
the  current  reconstruction  of  the  body  of  knowledge 
out  of  which  these  larger  conceptions  always  spring. 
Therefore,  those  who  are  shaping  modern  theological 
thought  should  take  a  sympathetic  attitude  toward  sci- 
ence, familiarize  themselves  with  its  point  of  view  and 
its  data,  train  themselves  in  its  technique,  and  be  able 
to  interpret  its  facts  and  principles  in  the  direction  of 
a  philosophy  of  the  religious  life  that  is  in  harmony  with 
its  conclusions.  No  theology  can  long  survive  that  con- 
flicts substantially  with  any  well-established  body  of 
facts.  The  temper  of  men  that  sneers  at  modern  science, 
and  seeks  to  defend  views  of  the  world-order  and  of 
man's  life  that  do  not  harmonize  with  known  facts  is 
fatal  to  the  Church's  leadership  in  the  modern  world. 
Those  who  cultivate  such  a  temper  should  not  be  allowed 
longer  to  usurp  the  rights  of  religious  leadership.  They 
are  not  leaders  of  present-day  religion  at  all,  but  of  the 
religion  of  past  generations;  and  their  place  is  that  of 
every  other  living  creature  that  cannot  adapt  itself  to  a 
changing  environment. 

The  new  theology,  therefore,  will  be  grounded  in 
the  conceptions  of  the  universe  and  of  human  life  that 
modern  science  is  now  rapidly  shaping  in  man's  con- 
sciousness. The  Church  should  honestly  and  fearlessly 
face  in  the  direction  of  this  reconstructive  process. 
Christianity,  like  all  other  religions,  is  an  expression  of 
what  men  think  of  themselves  and  of  the  world.  Sci- 
ence is  rapidly  modifying  both  the  content  of  knowledge 
and  the  scale  of  conscious  values ;  and  with  this  modifi- 
cation it  is  certain  that  Christianity  •  will  be  as  much 
richer  and  more  effective  for  human  progress  and  happi- 

[  434  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ness,  as  is  the  content  of  knowledge  larger,  and  the  scale 
of  conscious  values  more  accurate.  Fortunate  are  the 
individual  men  and  women,  and  fortunate  are  the  re- 
ligious organizations,  that  in  these  hours  of  reconstruc- 
tive change,  in  both  religious  and  secular  affairs,  are 
reorienting  their  lives  to  the  light  of  a  new  day  I 


[435] 


CHARLES  WILLIAM  ELIOT,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 

CAMBRIDGE^   MASS. 

President  emeritus  of  Harvard  University  since  1909; 
born  at  Boston,  Mass.,  March  20,  1834;  studied  at  the 
Boston  Latin  School  and  at  Harvard  University;  tutor  in 
mathematics.  Harvard,  1854-58;  assistant  professor  of 
mathematics  and  chemistry,  Lawrence  Scientific  School 
(Harvard),  1858-63;  studied  chemistry  and  investigated 
educational  methods  in  Europe,  1863-65;  professor  of 
analytical  chemistry  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  1865-69;  in  France,  1867-68;  president  of 
Harvard,  1869-1909;  author  of  Manual  of  Qualitative 
Chemical  Analysis  (with  F.  H.  Storer) ;  Manual  of  Inor- 
ganic Chemistry  (with  same) ;  Five  American  Contribu- 
tions to  Civilization,  and  Other  Essays;  Educational  Re- 
form; Charles  Eliot — Landscape  Architect;  More  Money 
for  the  Public  Schools;  John  Gilley;  The  Happy  Life; 
Four  American  Leaders;  the  Durable  Satisfactions  of 
Life;  The  Conflict  between  Individualism  and  Collectivism 
in  a  Democracy;  The  Future  of  Capitalism  and  Trades- 
Unionism  in  a  Democracy;  editor  of  The  Harvard  Classics. 

You  say  that  thousands  of  persons  are  indifferent  to 
the  claims  of  the  Church,  and  refuse  to  become  identified 
with  the  Church  in  any  of  its  numerous  denominations. 
You  then  ask,  "do  you  think  the  Church  should  limit 
itself  to  a  declaration"  .  .  .  of  "a  common  purpose 
of  love  and  service  to  God  and  man,"  and  you  invite  me 
to  answer  that  question. 

I  answer,  first,  that  all  the  existing  creeds  are  full  of 
improved  and  unprovable  statements,  and  that  their 
whole  tone  is  inconsistent  with  the  great  movements  of 
modem  society,  democracy,  individualism,  social  ideal- 
ism, universal  education,  the  spirit  of  research,  the  ethi- 
cal conduct  of  business  and  industries,  and  the  new  sense 
of  governmental  justice.     Many  "modern"  men  are 

[436] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

unable  to  subscribe  to  any  of  these  creeds.  The  historic 
evangelical  churches  are  therefore  recruited  from 
women,  and  from  children  who  are  enlisted  before  they 
have  arrived  at  years  of  discretion. 

If  the  unchurched  are  to  be  brought  into  association 
with  a  Christian  church,  it  must  be  a  church  which  makes 
no  use  of  the  ancient  creeds.  There  are  millions  of  men 
in  Christian  countries  who  would  subscribe  to  Abraham 
Lincoln's  declaration,  "Whenever  any  church  will  in- 
scribe over  its  altar,  as  its  sole  qualification  for  member- 
ship, the  Saviour's  condensed  statement  of  the  substance 
of  both  law  and  gospel,  *Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  that  church  will 
I  join  with  all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul." 

There  exists  in  the  United  States,  England, 
Hungary,  and  a  few  other  places  a  Christian  church 
called  the  Unitarian  which  makes  no  use  of  any  of  the 
ancient  creeds,  or  of  any  authoritative  test  for  church 
membership.  Its  declaration  of  faith  is  as  follows :  "The 
fatherhood  of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  the  leader- 
ship of  Jesus,  salvation  by  character,  the  progress  of 
mankind  onward  and  upward  forever" ;  but  no  member 
is  required  to  subscribe  to  this,  or  any  other,  declaration 
of  faith.  In  some  Unitarian  churches  the  following 
covenant  is  signed  by  persons  who  wish  to  declare  them- 
selves members  of  the  church:  "In  the  love  of  truth 
and  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  we  unite  for  the  worship 
of  God  and  the  service  of  man";  but  the  use  of  this  cov- 
enant is  wholly  voluntary. 

This  Unitarian  denomination  is  small,  and  is  be- 
lieved by  most  persons  to  be  too  free  and  too  individual- 
istic, and  therefore  to  lack  cohesion  and  impelling  force. 

[437] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

During  the  past  hundred  years,  however,  it  has  had  an 
influence  on  other  religious  denominations  and  on  the 
current  of  modern  thought  quite  out  of  proportion  to  its 
numbers,  since  its  main  tenets  have  been  set  forth  and 
enforced  by  innumerable  poets,  historians,  men  of  sci- 
ence, and  political  and  social  philosophers  in  writings 
which,  for  the  most  part,  take  no  cognizance  whatever 
of  the  existence  of  such  a  denomination.  Its  theology 
and  its  creed,  if  it  can  be  said  to  have  one,  are  consistent 
with  present-day  thought  and  aspiration. 

I  think  all  the  Christian  churches  which  desire  to 
carry  on  an  effective  propaganda  at  home  or  abroad 
might  wisely  limit  their  declarations  of  faith  to  state- 
ments as  simple  and  comprehensive  as  those  quoted 
above  from  Unitarian  afiirmations. 


[438] 


HAVELOCK    ELLIS, 

LONDON^   ENGLAND 

Fellow  of  the  Medico-Legal  Society  of  New  York;  Hon- 
orary Fellow  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Medicine;  For-' 
eign  Associate  of  the  Societe  Medico-Historique  of  Paris; 
general  editor  of  the  Contemporary  Science  Series;  born 
at  Croydon,  Surrey,  England,  Feb.  2,  1859;  educated  at 
private  schools  and  at  St.  Thomas's  Hospital;  taught  in 
various  parts  of  New  South  Wales,  1875-79;  returned  to 
England  and  qualified  as  physician,  but  after  practicing 
for  a  short  time  took  up  literary  and  scientific  work;  au- 
thor of  The  New  Spirit;  The  Criminal;  Man  and 
Woman:  A  Study  of  Human  Secondary  Sexual  Charac- 
ters; Sexual  Inversion;  Affirmations;  The  Evolution  of 
Modesty;  The  Nineteenth  Century;  A  Dialogue  in 
Utopia;  A  Study  of  British  Genius;  Analysis  of  the  SeX' 
ual  Impulse;  Sexual  Selection  in  Man;  Erotic  Symbol- 
ism; Sex  in  Relation  to  Society;  The  Soul  of  Spain;  The 
World  of  Dreams, 

I  REGARD  religion  as  a  private  matter  between  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  Infinite,  with  which  no  third  party  has 
any  concern.  So  far  as  regards  religion,  it  seems  to  me, 
therefore,  of  little  consequence  what  the  churches  do  or 
leave  undone. 

At  the  same  time  it  may  well  be  that  the  churches 
have  a  real  function  to  perform,  and  I  could  imagine 
them  exerting  a  noble  and  inspiring  influence.  It  would, 
however,  be  presumptuous  for  an  outsider  to  suggest 
how  this  might  best  be  done,  and  no  vitally  active  church 
requires  such  suggestions.  "I  am  dying  to  preach  a 
gospel  but  can't  for  the  life  of  me  imagine  what  gospel 
the  age  demands" — that  was  scarcely  the  attitude  of 
Jesus.  I  would  only  say  that  personally  I  think  the 
churches  would  be  well  advised  to  insist  as  little  as  pos- 

[439] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

sible  on  their  theological  divergencies.  The  world  is  not 
so  willing  as  it  once  was  to  gaze  with  respect  on  the 
spectacle  of  homoousians  and  homoiousians  cutting  each 
others'  throats,  not  even  when  they  only  do  it  figur- 
atively. 

Fewer  people  seek  the  churches  now  than  formerly.* 
I  suppose  it  is  inevitable.  No  religion  can  preserve  its 
youthful  vitality  for  two  thousand  yfears,  especially 
when  that  hostile  environment  which  stimulates  growth 
has  vanished  for  ever.  But  I  fear  that  neglect  of  the 
churches  is  not  always  a  sign  that  the  churches  have  been 
spiritually  outgrown. 

*  This  statement  was  submitted  to  Edwin  M.  Blis3,  Bureau  of  the  Cen- 
sus, Washington,  D.  C.     He  writes  us  that 

"In  1890  for  the  first  time  an  effort  was  made  to  obtain  the  number 
of  persons  enrolled  in  the  membership  of  the  various  religious  organiza- 
tions, Protestant,  Roman  Catholic,  Jewish,  Mormon,  etc.  According  to  that 
report  the  nimiber  of  such  persons  was  20,597,954.  The  next  census  re- 
port was  for  1906,  and  showed  a  total  of  32,  936,445  members. 

"The  population  of  continental  United  States  in  1890  was  62,9^,714,  so 
that  the  church  membership  formed  32.7%  of  the  total  popiilation.  In 
1906,  the  population  (estimated)  was  84,246,252,  the  church  membership 
being  39.1  %»  an  increase  of  6.4%.    .     .    . 

"While  no  positive  statements  can  be  made,  the  general  impression  left 
by  a  study  of  the  figures  as  they  are  reported  leaves  the  impression:  (1.) 
That  the  actual  number  of  persons  enrolled  as  members  of  some  religious 
organization  is  on  the  increase  rather  than  the  decrease;  (2.)  That  the 
actual  strength  of  the  religious  bodies,  as  indicated  by  the  number  and 
size  of  their  buildings,  the  extent  of  their  benefactions,  the  activity  of 
their  organizations,  is  notably  on  the  increase." 


[440] 


G  (RANVILLE)  STANLEY  HALL,  Ph.D., 

LL.D., 

WORCESTER^   MASS. 

President  and  professor  of  psychology,  Clark  Univer- 
sity, Worcester,  Mass.,  since  1888;  born  at  Ashfield, 
Mass,,  Feb.  1,  1846;  received  his  education  at  Williams 
College,  Union  Theological  Seminary,  the  Universities  of 
Berlin,  Bonn,  and  Heidelberg;  professor  of  psychol- 
ogy at  Antioch  College,  1872-76;  instructor  of  Eng- 
lish at  Harvard,  1876-77;  lecturer  on  psychology  at  Har- 
vard and  Williams  College,  1880-81;  professor  of 
psychology,  Johns  Hopkins,  1881-88;  founder  and  editor 
since  1887  of  the  American  Journal  of  Psychology;  editor 
of  the  Pedagogical  Seminary  since  1892;  American  Jour- 
nal of  Religious  Psychology  and  Education  since  1904; 
author  of  Aspects  of  German  Culture;  Hints  Toward  a 
Select  and  Descriptive  Bibliography  of  Education  (with 
John  M.  Mansfield) ;  Adolescence;  Youth — Its  Education, 
Regimen  and  Hygiene;  Educational  Problems, 

Most  of  my  life,  until  recent  years,  I  have  had  some 
church  connections.  I  am  profoundly  interested  in  the 
psychology  of  Christianity  and,  indeed,  have  lectured 
upon  it  for  many  years.  To  my  mind  it  is  not  so  much 
a  creed  as  a  life-purpose,  which  may  be  summed  up  in 
six  words,  Love  and  serve  God  and  man.  In  this 
formula  I  would  allow  the  greatest  latitude  toward  the 
interpretation  of  the  word  God.  It  might  even  be  a 
power  making  for  righteousness  in  the  world.  It  cer- 
tainly implies  a  moral  order.  It  seems  to  me  to  rest 
back  on  the  deep  foundations  of  biology  and  to  pervade 
all  life.  I  hope  and  trust  I  am  religious  and  Christian, 
and  I  try  to  live  according  to  the  above  maxim,  but 
object  to  having  my  ultimate  beliefs  prescribed  by  any 
creed,    I  have  pretty  definite  ideals  as  to  what  the  edu- 

[441  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

cation  of  ministers  should  be  and  that  it  should  be  some- 
thing very  different  from  what  it  is  at  present,  and  have 
my  ideals  of  what  constitutes  a  church,  and  what  the 
service  should  be.  I  would  not  attempt  to  formulate  a 
creed  or  theology  for  any  one,  but  I  think  the  basis  of 
union  should  be  work. 


[44,2] 


PAUL  HENRY  HANUS,  LL.D., 

CAMBRIDGE^   MASS. 

Professor  and  head  of  department  of  history  and  art  of 
teaching.  Harvard  University,  since  1901 ;  born  at  Herms- 
dorf-unterm-Kynast,  Silesia,  Prussia,  March  14,  1855; 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1859;  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Michigan,  1878;  has  been  teacher  since 
1 878 ;  assistant  professor  of  the  history  and  art  of  teaching. 
Harvard  University,  1891-1901;  author  of  Elements  of 
Determinants;  Geometry  in  the  Grammar  School;  Educa- 
tional Aims  and  Educational  Values;  A  Modern  School; 
Beginnings  in  Industrial  Education  and  Other  Educational 
Discussions, 

I  BEG  to  say,  first,  that  I  have  no  interest  whatever  in 
creeds :  they  seem  to  me  pernicious,  because  they  tend  to 
formulate,  once  for  all,  a  point  of  view  which  ought  to 
change  with  maturity,  knowledge,  and  experience;  sec- 
ond, that  while  theology  is  of  great  interest  to  many 
minds,  it  seems  to  me  a  speculative  subject,  like  philos- 
ophy, and  therefore  likely  to  yield  no  permanent  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  with  which  it  deals.  I  have  all  possi- 
ble sympathy  with  personal  religion,  but  very  little  with 
institutional  religion.  My  conception  of  a  useful  church 
is  an  institution  that  is  primarily  a  social  clearing  house ; 
that  is  to  say,  a  clearing  house  for  various  kinds  of  help- 
ful social  activities;  and  incidentally  a  source  of  guid- 
ance and  inspiration  for  every  person  who  desires  to 
define  for  himself  high  ideals  of  every  kind  and  to  ap- 
proximate their  realization  in  his  own  and  his  neigh- 
bor's experience. 


[443] 


# 


JESSE  HERMAN  HOLMES,  Ph.D., 

SWARTHMORE^   PA. 

Professor  of  history  of  religion  and  philosophy,  Swarth- 
more  College,  since  1900;  born  at  West  Liberty,  la.,  Jan. 
5,  1864;  graduated  from  the  University  of  Nebraska, 
1884;  graduate  student  and  librarian,  1884-85;  studied  at 
Johns  Hopkins,  1885-86,  and  1880-90,  at  Harvard,  1894, 
and  at  Oxford,  1899-1900;  taught  at  the  Friends'  Select 
School,  Washington,  1886-88,  1890-93;  collector  of  botani- 
cal specimens  for  the  United  States  Herbarium,  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  1888-90;  teacher  at  George  School, 
Bucks  County,  Pa.,  1893-99;  has  taken  active  part  in  the 
work  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  especially  in  Sunday- 
school  work;  author  of  several  courses  of  lessons  for 
Friends*  Sunday-schools. 

I  THINK  religion  can  never  find  a  permanent  basis  in 
historical  fact.  History  is,  by  its  nature,  incapable  of 
proof,  since  it  cannot  be  repeated.  Depending  as  it 
does  on  human  evidence  always  liable  to  distortion  or 
error,  it  can  never  reach  farther  than  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  probability.  This  has  been  the  great  and 
fimdamental  mistake  of  Christianity,  since  it  rests  its 
case  on  the  accuracy  of  historical  statements  in  the  New 
Testament,  or  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  or  in  the 
historical  creeds.  It  has  attempted  to  overcome  this 
difficulty  by  claiming  infallible  authorities.  The  Ro- 
man Church  has  a  consistent  theory  in  an  apostolic 
succession  and  an  infallible  pope.  But  experience  shows 
in  practise  that  this  authority  is  anything  but  infallible. 
Protestantism  tried  an  infallible  Bible  and  in  many  in- 
stances still  tries  to  maintain  this.  But  thoughtful 
people  realize  that  nothing  short  of  infallibility  on  the 

[  444  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

part  of  each  reader  will  give  him  certainty;  since  his 
interpretation  is  what  guides  him. 

Since  history  fails  us  as  a  basis  I  believe  we  must 
turn  to  experience,  as  interpreted  by  such  history  as  is 
in  accord  with  experience.  We  find  in  our  nature  a 
desire  for  the  right  and  true,  we  recognize  it  in  humanity 
about  us  and  we  see  its  workings  in  the  story  of  the 
race.  We  have  a  permanent  and  abiding  sense  that 
loyalty  to  our  highest  ideals  is  not  only  safe,  but  the 
only  safety.  We  Quakers  recognize  in  this  guidance  :of 
the  highest  self  the  voice  of  God,  the  "inner  light,"  the 
"divine  seed,"  the  "Christ  of  God."  This  guidance  is 
to  be  had  by  prayer  and  by  striving.  Its  full  acceptance 
brings  peaceful  security.  These  things  are  as  much 
experimental  facts  as  the  laws  of  gravitation  or  of  mag- 
netism. They  are  verifiable — they  need  not  be  taken  as 
authority,  and  by  this  they  show  themselves  as  a  solid 
foundation  for  the  higher  life. 

Moreover  they  explain  and  make  vital  the  lives  and 
messages  of  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  the 
career  and  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  the  parts  played  by 
the  heroes  of  faith  the  world  over.  They  enable  us  to 
recognize  and  welcome  light  and  leading  from  every 
land  and  from  every  religion.  We  are  enabled  without 
inconsistency  and  without  revolution  to  readjust  our 
thought  and  our  vocabulary  to  every  new  age  and  condi- 
tion. We  not  only  need  not  fear  science,  but  may  recog- 
nize in  her  the  handmaid  of  religion,  in  that  she  opens  up 
new  areas  and  new  vistas  for  revelation. 

In  a  word  religion  should  be  based  on  the  fact 
of  the  constant  and  progressive  revelation  through  ex- 
perience to  man  of  the  ways  of  righteousness,  and  of  the 
order  of  our  mysterious  lives.    It  should  include  kinship 

[445] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  reverence  for  the  great  revealers  of  every  age  and 
people.  It  should  welcome  every  new  advance  without 
fear — ^with  joy  indeed  at  the  wider  vision.  It  should 
be  quick  to  recognize  truth  in  whatever  guise  of  vocabu- 
lary, caring  supremely  for  the  thing  rather  than  the 
form  of  expression.  It  should  see  no  heresy  except  in 
hypocrisy.  "Infidelity  does  not  consist  in  believing  or 
in  disbelieving;  but  in  professing  to  believe  what  one 
does  not  believe." 


r446] 


SIR   HENRY   HAMILTON   JOHNSTON, 
G.C.M.G.,   K.C.B.,   D.Sc, 

ARUNDEL,   ENGLAND 

Explorer  and  scientist;  born  at  Kennington^  London^  June 
12,  1858;  studied  at  King's  College,  London,  and  at  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts;  served  for  many  years  in  the 
British  consular  service  and  as  administrator  of  several 
African  Protectorates  (Southern  Nigeria,  British  Central 
Africa,  and  Uganda) ;  explorer  and  gold  medallist  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  and  Royal  Scottish  Geographical  so- 
cieties and  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London;  honorary 
life  fellow  of  the  Royal  Italian  and  the  Philadelphia 
Geographical  societies  and  of  the  Royal  Irish  and  the  New 
York  Zoological  societies;  member  of  the  Royal  Water 
Colour  Society;  governor  of  the  London  School  of  Eco- 
nomics, and  a  trustee  of  the  Hunterian  Museum  of  the 
Royal  College  of  Surgeons;  has  made  many  discoveries  in 
the  African  fauna  (including  the  okapi)  and  flora;  has 
written  numerous  books  on  travel,  history,  zoology,  and 
linguistics;  and  his  paintings  have  been  frequently  ex- 
hibited in  the  Royal  Academy  (of  which  he  was  once  a 
student),  and  in  other  English  art  galleries. 

I  THINK  on  the  whole  (with  some  slight  reservations) 
that  many  men  and  women  of  the  day  would  be  content 
to  close  issue  with  Abraham  Lincoln  on  what  should  con- 
stitute the  sole  qualification  of  "church  membership." 
I  would  prefer,  like  him,  to  lay  stress  rather  on  love  for 
the  works  of  God  than  a  personal  "love"  for  the  source 
of  creative  energy,  as  to  which  we  know  so  little,  about 
whom  we  can  only  speculate  with  ever-increasing  vague- 
ness and  awe,  as  the  scope  of  our  knowledge  of  this 
world  and  the  solar  system,  and  the  universe  beyond 
widens  from  year  to  year.    We  are  in  fact  lost  in  a  sea 

[447] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  doubt — "Are  God  and  nature  then  at  strife,  that 
nature  lends  such  evil  dreams?"  Sometimes  it  seems  to 
me  allowable  to  imagine  God  as  creating  a  wonderful 
living  universe  out  of  chaos,  while  the  devil  is  the  per- 
sonification of  the  brute  resistance  of  matter,  the  recal- 
citrancy of  forces  which  overshoot  the  mark  or  fail  to 
come  up  to  the  standard  of  efficiency.  Yet  great  as 
are  the  difficulties  which  beset  God's  purpose  (as  we 
dimly  imagine  it) ,  we  can  now  by  the  knowledge  we  have 
acquired — a  knowledge  infinitely  greater  than  that  of 
the  prophets  of  old — see  a  steady  progress  toward 
higher,  better,  more  complex  things  in  the  history  of 
life-development  on  this  little  planet ;  and  from  this  un- 
folding of  living,  sentient  matter  deduce  that  some 
great  purpose  lies  ahead  in  the  evolution  of  man.  But 
all  this  must  be  guess-work  and  theory.  If  we  are  to 
express  a  concrete  opinion  on  religion,  I  should  say 
that  mankind  has  as  yet  had  no  better  inspiration  than 
the  gospel  uttered  by  Jesus  the  Christ,  by  Yeshu  the 
Nazarene,  as  he  was  really  styled  at  the  time  of  his  teach- 
ing; and  this  gospel  is  reinforced  and  emphasized  by  the 
utterances  of  his  inmiediate  followers,  so  far  as  they  are 
authentic;  especially  in  the  epistles  of  Sha'ul  who  was 
called  Paulus  and  of  lakob  bar  losef — if  it  was  he  who 
wrote  the  beautiful  verses  we  ascribe  to  "St.  James." 

Briefly,  I  think  pure  religion  and  undefiled  is  being 
injured  at  the  present  day  by  the  indiscriminate  fetish 
worship  of  all  the  books  of  the  Bible,  that  is  to  say  of 
that  collection  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  written  between 
about  500  B.  C.  and  200  B.  C,  and  the  Neo-Greek 
gospels  and  epistles  composed  in  Asia  Minor,  Greece, 
and  perhaps  Rome  between  50  A.  D.  and  200  A.  D. 
This  collection  represents  what  was  arbitrarily  pro- 

[  448  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

nounced  to  be  canonical  many  hundred  years  ago.  All 
that  is  essential  to  the  Christian  religion — a  religion 
which  in  its  main  purpose  has  stood  the  test  of  time — is 
contained  in  three  or  four  books  of  the  New  Testament. 
The  remainder  of  the  Bible,  especially  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, is  a  negligible  quantity  to  all  but  students  of 
oriental  history,  of  ethnology,  and  of  poetry.  As  liter- 
ature I  will  admit  there  are  passages  in  the  Psalms,  in 
Isaiah,  and  in  the  Book  of  Job  which  are  sublime,  espe- 
cially when  done  into  Jacobean  English;  but  they  are 
no  great  reenforcement  to  civic  morality  nor  of  much 
practical  use  to  the  commonalty.  Milton  was  quite 
equally  inspired;  while  as  to  Tennyson,  as  to  portions 
of  Shakespeare,  they  are  unapproached  in  beauty  of 
phrase  or  self-evident  truth  by  the  most  inspired  among 
the  Jews,  who  in  returnmg  from  their  captivity  or  dur- 
ing the  later  times  of  bondage  set  themselves  to  trans- 
scribe  the  legends  and  express  the  longings  of  their 
race. 

It  is  because  of  the  overmuch  attention  which  min- 
isters of  the  Church  of  Christ  bestow  on  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  or  the  incessant  reiteration  of 
prayers  and  canticles  two-thirds  of  which  are  inapplic- 
able to  our  modern  lives,  our  modern  hopes,  sorrows, 
longings,  and  sins,  that  the  churches  and  chapels  are 
losing  their  congregations,  and  that  the  rift  between 
the  professional  ministers  of  religion  and  the  laity  is 
widening.  And  yet  there  is  a  greater  need  than  ever 
for  Christianity,  and  the  gospel  of  Christ  stands  out 
more  than  ever  as  a  beacon  of  truth — a  revelation,  if 
you  will.  The  last  thing  I  desire  is  the  disestablishment 
of  the  Church  or  the  abolition  of  real  religion,  but  it  must 
be  religion  as  defined  in  the  earlier  books  of  the  New 

[449] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Testament,  devoid  of  needless  and  unbelievable  dogma, 
a  religion  of  w^orks,  with  faith  more  in  the  background, 
hope  kept  alive,  and  charity  predominating.  I  ask  for 
no  blind  following  of  the  pronouncements  of  science. 
The  theories  of  Darwin,  Spencer,  Hooker,  Haeckel, 
Weissmann,  Metchnikoff;  of  astronomers  and  bacteri- 
ologists, geologists  and  anatomists,  can  be  given  cre- 
dence as  long  as  they  seem  to  fit  together  some  pieces  of 
the  puzzle  of  this  and  other  worlds;  but  we  need  not 
any  more  go  to  the  stake  for  this  or  that  theory  of  the 
universe.  Let  us  martyrize  ourselves  only  for  objects 
of  material  good ;  let  us  inflict  martyrdom  only  on  those 
who  break  the  laws.  Yet  not  make  fetishes  of  laws  or 
law-givers ;  marching  with  the  times  and  constantly  mod- 
ifying our  codes  and  our  customs  to  conform  with  the 
changing  circumstances  of  life;  and  the  needs  of  each 
new  generation. 

Our  churches  ought  to  be  temples  of  knowledge,  of 
knowledge  concerning  good  and  evil,  of  social  needs  and 
deficiencies,  the  discoveries  and  temporary  conclusions 
reached  by  students  of  God's  works,  in  a  constant  striv- 
ing after  an  understanding  of  God's  purpose.  By  no 
means  let  us  neglect  the  appeal  to  men  through  their 
senses;  the  quickening  of  the  emotional  side  through 
music — ^music  which  that  seer,  Du  Maurier,  thought 
might  prove  to  be  a  channel  of  communication  with  the 
divine  Spirit — the  visual  comprehension  of  facts  and 
phases  through  pictures,  the  brain-soothing  or  intellect- 
stimulating  effects  of  delicious  odors — incense  should 
never  have  been  pretermitted  from  public  worship.  In- 
stead of  religious  exercises  being  an  odious  imitation  of 
the  Tibetan  prayer  wheel,  they  should  be  so  multiform, 
so  varied,  so  catholic  in  their  appeal  to  the  better  in- 

[450] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

stincts  of  our  nature,  so  convincing  to  our  intelligence 
and  soothing  to  our  sorrow,  so  apt  in  their  diagnosis  of 
our  errors  and  swift  to  indicate  the  remedy  or  the  atone- 
ment, that  all  the  world  would  wish  to  go  to  church* 


[451] 


IRVING  KING,  Ph.D., 

IOWA   CITY^   lA. 

Professor  of  education.  State  University  of  Iowa,  since 
1909;  born  at  Richmond,  Ind.,  July  17,  1874;  graduated 
from  Earlham  College,  Ind.,  1896;  principal  of  Ton- 
ganoxie  Academy,  1896-98;  Bloomingdale  (Ind.)  Acad- 
emy, 1898-1900;  fellow  at  the  University  of  Chicago, 
1901-03;  professor  of  psychology,  Oshkosh  (Wis.)  State 
Normal  School,  1903;  of  psychology  and  history  of  educa- 
tion, Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn,  1903-06;  assistant  profes- 
sor of  education  and  inspector  of  secondary  schools.  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  1906-09;  author  of  Psychology  of 
Child  Development;  The  Development  of  Religion;  Social 
Aspects  of  Education;  Education  for  Social  Efficiency. 

I  AM  just  now  one  of  those  who  are  finding  it  increas- 
ingly easier  to  stay  away  from  church.  I  was  raised  to 
go  to  church  regularly.  I  have  been  a  church  worker 
and  have  even  at  times  occupied  the  pulpit  myself;  one 
winter  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  I  spoke  every  Sunday  morn- 
ing at  the  Lafayette  Avenue  Friends'  Church.  I  sup- 
pose my  case  therefore  is  different  from  that  of  many 
men  who  do  not  attend;  or  men  who  have  seldom  at- 
tended. I  have  gone  and  have  participated,  but  I  find 
my  interest  waning.  Surely  if  the  Church  is  to  get  the 
men  it  must  be  able  to  hold  those  it  has  already. 

I  have  thought  a  good  deal  about  my  own  diminish- 
ing interest.  It  is  not  due  to  any  lack  of  belief  in  the 
reality  or  need  of  religion.  I  had  and  have  a  sincere  and 
effective  Christian  life,  I  hope  and  believe.  I  am  trying 
to  train  my  children  in  religious  matters.  But,  frankly, 
the  church  service,  the  average  one,  does  not  touch  or 
satisfy  in  any  particular  my  inner  religious  cravings. 

[  452  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  minister  does  not  seem  to  have  lived  and  suffered 
any,  nor  does  he  seem  to  be  speaking  to  me  out  of  any- 
great  depth  or  reach  of  experience.  When  I  say  "the 
minister,"  I  use  the  term  generically.  And  yet,  now  and 
then,  I  do  hear  one  who  has  a  real  "message,"  whose 
words  strike  home  and  move  me  to  a  higher  plane  of  en- 
deavor. I  do  not  want  to  be  "entertained"  by  a  sermon, 
either  through  the  wit  or  the  learning  of  the  minister. 
I  want  to  be  inspired  to  grapple  more  energetically  with 
the  serious  problems  of  the  present-day  social  order.  I 
care  very  little  for  questions  of  biblical  interpretation 
or  for  the  discussion  of  Greek  or  Hebrew  etymologies. 
I  am  intolerably  bored  by  a  doctrinal  discussion  of  the 
atonement  or  by  a  forty-minute  discourse  on  the  "fine 
example"  set  by  Abraham  in  leaving  his  kindred  in 
idolatrous  Ur  to  go  to  a  new  land  that  his  children  might 
not  be  contaminated  by  idolatry  (I  had  always  before 
supposed  his  children  came  long  afterward!). 

In  a  word,  the  average  sermon  is  hopelessly  out  of 
touch  with  the  needs  and  interests  and  problems  of  pres- 
ent-day life.  I  get  little  help  from  the  church  service, 
I  hear  only  platitudes  which  are  iterated  and  reiterated 
beyond  endurance.  I  sometimes  think  if  the  sermon 
and  prayer  could  be  reduced  to  fifteen  minutes  and  the 
musical  portion  increased,  the  service  would  be  more 
beneficial.  But,  after  all,  what  is  needed  is  a  reed  man 
with  a  vital  message.  Men  generally  do  not  go  to  church 
because  it  does  not  have  anything  for  them. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  religion  and  churchgoing  are 
so  closely  identified  in  our  minds.  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  average  church  service  is  an  anachronism,  a  left-over 
from  an  earlier  social  era,  when  the  needs  of  people  were 
different.     People  then  went  to  church  because  they 

[  ^^^  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

wanted  to.  It  fitted  into  their  lives,  and  did  something 
for  them.  Nowadays  one  often  goes  out  of  a  sense  of 
duty,  or  to  set  a  good  example  to  his  neighbor  or  friend. 
When  this  attitude  is  held  I  think  it  shows  something 
radically  wrong  somewhere.  No  church  can  long  main- 
tain itself  on  such  a  basis  of  interest.  I  hold  there  must 
be  a  genuine  spontaneous  interest  in  church  for  what 
one  gets  out  of  it  himself.  No  one  should  be  expected 
to  go  simply  because  he  should  set  a  good  example  or 
because  he  vaguely  believes  the  Church  is  a  good  in- 
stitution for  his  community.  Unless  the  Church  can 
offer  some  more  vital  reason  than  this  for  attending  its 
services  it  cannot  expect  to  appeal  largely  to  men. 


[454] 


JAMES  HENRY  LEUBA,  Ph.D., 

BRYN   MAWE^   PA. 

Professor  of  psychology  and  education,  and  director  of  the 
psychological  laboratory,  Bryn  Mawr  College,  since  1908; 
bom  at  Neuchatel,  Switzerland,  April  9,  1868;  came  to 
the  United  States,  1887;  studied  at  Clark  University, 
1892-97,  at  Leipsic,  Halle,  Heidelberg,  and  Paris,  1897-98; 
author  of  The  Psychological  Origin  and  the  Nature  of  Re- 
ligion; A  Psychological  Study  of  Religion:  Its  Origin, 
Function,  and  Future. 

The  present  religious  crisis  arises  in  my  opinion  from 
the  progressive  disappearance  of  the  belief  in  a  personal 
God  in  direct  communication  with  man.  All  the  other 
debated  questions,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  atonement, 
baptism,  etc.,  are  subsidiary  to  that  one.  Our  contem- 
poraries differ  from  the  Christian  people  of  the  Middle 
Ages  by  the  decrease  of  the  firm,  practical  belief  in  a 
God  who  watches  over  them  and  answers  their  prayers. 
This  growing  disbelief  is  not  accidental,  neither  is 
it  the  outcome  of  a  disinclination  to  believe.  On  the 
contrary,  it  appears  to  me  that  most  of  those  who  have 
lost  that  belief  have  given  it  up  sorrowfully.  The  change 
I  am  indicating  is  a  logical,  unavoidable  result  of  scien- 
tific progress  and  philosophical  speculation.  In  dem- 
onstrating the  presence  of  law  in  the  physical  and  in  the 
psychological  universe,  science  has  destroyed,  in  those 
best  informed,  the  belief  in  divine  intervention,  whether 
in  nature  or  in  man ;  and  contemporary  philosophy  has 
abandoned  the  belief  in  the  God  with  reference  to  whom 
the  prayer-books  have  been  written.  The  Absolute  of  the 
German  idealists  and  of  their  English  followers,  some 

[455] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  whom  have,  for  practical  reasons,  lent  their  influence 
to  the  Church,  is  not  a  Being  to  whom  the  prayer-book 
of  the  Anglican  Church  could  be  addressed;  imless  one 
chose,  as  Hegel  did,  to  speak  symbolically  of  the  "love 
of  God"  and  of  the  "Son  of  God."  For  Hegel,  the 
first  of  these  expressions  meant  that,  in  the  Absolute, 
contradictions  are  transcended,  what  is  opposed  to  God 
is  yet  in  union  with  him;  and  the  second  expression 
signified  that  "when  we  concentrate  attention  on  the 
manifestation  of  God,  as  distinguished  from  his  inner 
essence,  we  are  dealing  with  God  as  the  *other'  of  him- 
self." But  a  Christian  prayer-book  so  interpreted  be- 
comes simply  a  parody. 

There  is  no  reason  known  to  the  scientist  or  to  the 
philosopher  for  thinking  that  the  increasing  disbelief 
in  a  personal  God  in  affective  communication  with  man 
will  not  continue  to  spread  together  with  knowledge. 

The  Christian  religion  has  grown  up  about  a  belief 
in  a  god-idea  now  being  replaced  by  another.  The  read- 
justment demanded  by  the  situation  should  therefore 
reach  the  very  foundations  of  Christian  dogmatics.  Un- 
willingness on  the  part  of  the  progressive  clergy  and 
leading  professors  of  theology  to  acknowledge  the  situa- 
tion openly,  and  their  efforts  to  continue  the  use  of 
habitual  terms  by  attaching  symbolic  meanings  are  to  be 
expected.  It  appears  to  me,  however,  to  be  a  practise 
deeply  to  be  deplored,  for  it  places  these  men  in  a  situa- 
tion which  to  the  outsider  cannot  fail  to  appear  as  lack- 
ing in  directness  and  ingenuousness ;  and  in  the  present 
crisis  no  good  can  come  to  religion  from  an  attempt  to 
hide  radical  differences.  Unless  the  Church  is  to  resolve 
itself  merely  into  an  ethical  society,  it  will  have,  it  seems, 
to  transform  its  theology  radically.     Theology  may 

[456] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

transcend,  but  it  may  not  contradict  science  and  regain 
the  place  of  honor  which  it  held  when  its  God-conception 
was  in  agreement  with  the  best  thought  of  the  time. 

We  hear  on  every  hand  that  the  number  of  young 
men  entering  the  ministry  is  relatively  decreasing,  and 
that  their  quality  is  not  equal  to  that  of  the  men 
entering  other  professions.  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
blame  for  this  is  to  be  laid  upon  the  "materialistic  spirit" 
of  the  age.  There  is  probably  as  much  noble  devotion 
now  in  our  young  men  as  at  any  other  time.  But  they 
cannot  show  it  in  the  interest  of  a  religion  whose  system 
of  theology  is  fundamentally  at  variance  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  age. 


[457] 


THE  REV.  CHARLES  STEDMAN  MACFAR- 
LAND,  Ph.D., 

NEW   YORK^   N.   Y. 

Executive  secretary  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America  since  1911 ;  bom  at  Boston,  Dec.  12, 
1866;  educated  at  Chapman  School,  East  Boston  High 
School,  and  Yale;  general  manager  of  T.  O.  Gardner  & 
Co.,  Boston  and  New  York,  1885-92;  general  secretary  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Melrose,  1892-93;  assistant  pastor  at  Ma- 
verick Congregational  Church,  East  Boston,  1893-94;  or- 
dained to  the  Congregational  ministry,  1897;  teaching, 
1899-1900;  minister  at  Maplewood  Church,  Maiden,  Mass., 
1900-6;  South  Norwalk,  Conn.,  1906-11;  author  of  The 
Old  Puritanism  and  the  New  Age;  The  Spirit  Christlike; 
Jesus  and  the  Prophets;  The  Infinite  Affection;  The  Chris- 
tian Ministry  and  the  Social  Order;  Spiritual  Culture  and 
Social  Service;  Christian  Unity  at  Work. 

The  various  evangelical  denominations,  coming  to- 
gether for  mutual  service  as  constituent  bodies  of  the 
Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
have  raised  before  themselves  many  questions,  some  of 
which  they  are  not  yet  ready  to  answer.  These  ques- 
tions, however,  in  many  cases,  are  answering  themselves 
in  concrete  and  practical  terms  before  any  answer  is 
attempted  by  way  of  intelligible  formulation  and  ex- 
pression in  definite  principles. 

One  of  the  questions  which  has  been  raised,  not 
officially  in  the  Federal  Council  and  in  no  very  clear 
way  by  any  of  the  denominations,  but  which  is  clearly 
to  be  seen  in  the  background  of  the  whole  situation,  is 
that  which  has  been  raised  in  connection  with  this  sym- 
posium. 

Put  in  one  form  it  is  this:    What  conditions  or  tests 

[458] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

can  the  disciples  of  to-day,  organized  in  Christian 
churches,  lay  down  upon  which  to  admit  or  to  reject 
men  in  relation  to  this  fellowship?  What  is  the  Chris- 
tian Church?  How  does  it  differ  from  other  human 
organizations?  The  basis  of  selection  in  all  other  so- 
cieties is  upon  some  ground  of  classification.  Men  come 
together  in  other  fraternal  circles  because  of  intellectual 
sympathies  or  social  congenialities;  sometimes  because 
of  sympathy  in  moral  purpose  and  effort.  But  can  the 
Church  do  this? 

Another  question  we  are  asking:  Does  the  Christian 
Church  exist  for  the  sake  of  herself  or  for  the  sake  of 
humanity? 

It  must  be  admitted  that  we  have  assumed  that  there 
were  certain  clearly  defined  conditions  and  grounds  for 
this  Christian  fellowship.  We  have  conditioned  it  upon 
considerations  of  doctrinal  belief  and  upon  participation 
in  conventional  rites  and  ceremonies.  A  prevailing  dis- 
position has  been  to  make  the  test  that  of  a  particular 
type  of  religious  experience.  We  have  also  assumed 
that  men  and  women  were  to  be  admitted  to  the  fellow- 
ship in  large  measure  upon  the  ground  of  their  moral 
attainment. 

The  test  of  doctrine  does  not  answer.  If  it  means 
that  we  are  to  demand  intellectual  belief  in  these  con- 
ceptions of  the  human  mind,  we  turn  the  Church  into 
an  intellectual  aristocracy.  The  great  mass  of  men  and 
women  cannot  understand  these  abstractions.  Such  a 
condition  of  fellowship  excludes  those  common  people 
who  once  heard  the  Master  gladly.  If,  instead  of  com- 
prehension of  these  doctrines,  it  means  mere  assent  to 
them,  then  we  invite  insincerity  with  its  vain  repetitions. 
By  any  such  test  we  exclude  great  hosts  of  men  and 

14.59  2 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

women  of  noble  Christlike  living.  It  is  not  a  moral  test, 
for  it  is  altogether  possible  for  the  orthodox,  who  are 
straight  in  their  thinking,  to  be  crooked  in  their  living. 
This  was  the  test  of  the  scribe.  All  who  did  not  know 
and  imderstand  the  law  were  accursed. 

If  we  base  our  fellowship  upon  participation  in  rites 
and  ceremonies  we  furnish  men  with  a  mechanical  type 
of  religion  that  emulates  the  Pharisee,  in  his  washing  of 
hands  and  plates. 

Another  condition  which  we  have  assumed  has  been 
the  profession  of  a  particular,  clearly  defined  type  of 
religious  experience  in  space  and  time.  There  are  times 
and  occasions  when  great  revivals  accomplish  wonderful 
results.  There  are  men  and  women  who  never  would  be 
brought  to  the  sense  of  religion  by  any  other  means  or 
methods.  Some  of  the  most  splendid  things  we  do  in 
life,  some  of  our  finest  resolves,  are  carried  out  under 
the  impulse  of  our  emotions.  But,  as  the  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  so  it  is  with  the  Spirit  of  God ;  we  can- 
not tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth.  There  are 
almost  as  many  types  of  religious  experience  as  there 
are  of  human  personalities.  There  are  many  mansions 
in  the  Father's  house  and  many  doors  by  which  men 
may  enter.  It  has  been  a  sad  mistake  to  tell  men  in 
advance  that  they  must  have  a  particular  kind  of  re- 
ligious experience  in  order  that  they  may  enter  the 
Christian  Church.  It  has  closed  the  door  to  many,  it 
has  led  many  others  to  wait  and  anxiously  to  seek  a 
particular  experience,  which,  on  account  of  tempera- 
ment, they  can  never  have.  It  has  kept  many  earnest 
Christian  men  and  women  outside  of  the  Church.  Shall 
we  then  grant  fellowship  upon  moral  attainments? 
Shall  we  say  to  men  and  women:    You  may  come  in 

[460] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

here  when  you  have  sufficiently  gotten  rid  of  your  sins, 
when  you  have  become  good  enough,  when  you  feel  sure 
that  you  are  strong  enough  to  live  a  religious  life?  This 
also  was  the  answer  of  the  Pharisee,  and  it  is  a  question- 
able answer. 

The  doctrinal  test  excludes  the  ignorant  and  the  sin- 
cere. The  ceremonial  test  keeps  out  those  men  and 
women  who,  because  of  their  peculiar  nature,  are  not 
affected  by  symbolism,  beautiful  as  it  may  be.  The 
experimental  method  denies  the  work  of  the  spirit,  which 
limits  that  work  to  one  single  type  of  manifestation. 
The  last  method,  that  of  the  test  of  moral  attainment, 
shuts  the  door  of  the  Church  in  the  face  of  those  who 
need  it  most. 

Look  now  for  a  moment  at  the  method  of  Jesus  in 
calling  his  disciples  and  all  those  who  would  share  his 
fellowship.  He  never  formulated  or  imposed  a  doctrine. 
He  did  not  institute  a  single  form  or  rite.  While  he 
himself  submitted  to  the  baptism  of  John  and  permitted 
his  disciples  to  baptize,  it  is  expressly  stated  that  he  him- 
self did  not  baptize.  He  never  prescribed  any  particu- 
lar psychological  experience  through  which  his  disciples 
must  pass.  In  his  contact  with  men  he  treated  each  man 
differently  according  to  the  personal  equation.  When 
do  we  find  that  he  ever  received  his  disciples  upon  any 
moral  probation  whatever?  We  cannot  find  that  he 
ever  laid  down  any  condition  or  test.  Suppose  we  should 
turn  to  the  Scripture  some  day  and  in  reading  the  gos- 
pel we  should  find  something  like  this:  "One  day  a 
disciple  came  to  Jesus,  when  he  was  within  the  house 
and  said,  Outside  the  door  is  one  who  seeks  to  join 
our  fellowship.  Jesus  answered  him  and  said:  Do  you 
think  he  is  good  enough?  does  he  understand  or  give 

[  461  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

assent  to  our  doctrines?  has  he  been  carefully  examined 
by  the  deacons?  are  you  sure  and  is  he  sure  that  he  will 
not  injure  us  by  falling  again  into  sin?  have  you  satis- 
fied yourself  of  his  moral  attainments?" 

It  is  not  perfectly  clear  that  we  cannot  imagine 
Jesus  doing  anything  but  saying  to  the  disciple.  Open 
the  door — ^let  him  in? 

What  is  the  Church  for  ?  We  answer :  To  help  men. 
How  then  can  we  do  it  best?  By  having  them  on  the 
inside  or  keeping  them  on  the  outside?  By  exclusion 
and  probation  or  by  fellowship  with  them? 

If  the  Church  is  a  society  for  the  good,  who  are  the 
good?  Who  is  to  determine  in  the  light  of  the  ele- 
ments of  heredity,  opportunity,  resistance,  and  environ- 
ment? Who  shall  answer  the  question?  Who  is 
empowered  to  make  the  selection?  Who  is  able  to  read 
the  intentions  and  motives  of  men's  hearts?  Have  we 
the  right  to  exercise  the  prerogatives  of  the  judgment 
day? 

Or  shall  we  think  of  the  Church  as  a  hospital  for 
men's  souls?  One  of  the  finest  books  of  instruction  for 
a  minister  has  the  beautiful  title,  "The  Cure  of  Souls." 
Suppose  the  hospital  should  put  up  a  sign  outside  its 
doors:  Only  those  who  are  well  enough  are  admitted 
here. 

We  liken  the  Church  to  the  school.  Suppose  the 
school  should  say:  You  must  learn  before  you  can  get 
in  here. 

It  will  take  only  a  little  thought  to  show  us  that 
the  Church  must  have  an  absolutely  open  door,  without 
any  conditions  whatever,  other  than  humble  intent  and 
purpose  and  a  right  spirit. 

We  have  not  done  this.    We  have  not  dared  to  soil 

[462] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

our  philacteries.  We  have  created  a  wrong  impression 
among  those  whom  we  should  seek.  I  invite  a  noble- 
spirited  man  to  unite  with  the  Church.  He  answers  that 
he  cannot,  and  then  goes  on  to  name  two  or  three  (often 
unessential)  doctrines  to  which  he  cannot  give  honest, 
intellectual  assent.  I  called  upon  a  young  woman  once 
who  confessed  that  she  had  not  been  leading  a  right  life 
and  who  on  that  ground  suggested  that  we  had  better 
cast  her  off.  I  told  her  that  she  had  given  me  the  very 
best  reason  in  the  world  why  we  should  absolutely  re- 
fuse to  deny  her  our  fellowship.  I  said,  "I  must  be 
your  pastor  now."  And  I  reverently  say  that  I  never 
felt  the  spirit  of  Christ  more  in  my  life  than  as  I  said  it. 

A  young  man,  sincere  and  honest  in  his  thought,  came 
to  ask  me  to  help  him  with  his  intellectual  problems. 
His  mind  had  become  clouded  with  doubt,  not  moral 
doubt,  but  intellectual  doubt.  Upon  this  ground  he 
had  gone  to  his  pastor  who  had  agreed  with  him  that 
under  those  conditions  he  had  better  withdraw  from  the 
church.  That  pastor  needs  to  take  another  course  in 
his  preparation  for  the  ministry. 

I  knew  a  case  of  a  church  which  ruthlessly  exconmiu- 
nicated  a  young  woman  who  had  been  deceived  and  been 
robbed  of  the  dearest  of  her  possessions  in  life.  Was 
that  the  attitude  of  the  Master  or  of  the  Pharisee?  I 
once  heard  a  minister  preach  a  sermon  on  the  Church,  in 
which  he  declared  with  great  emphasis  and  a  sense  of 
righteous  indignation  that  we  must  have  "quality  and 
not  quantity."  In  answer  I  told  him  I  did  not  want  a 
regenerate  Church  so  much  as  I  did  a  regenerating 
Church.  Upon  one  occasion  a  man  came  to  me  and  con- 
fessed his  weakness.  He  was  under  the  control  of  an 
awful  appetite.    He  wanted  me  to  help  him.    I  said: 

[463] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Let  me  be  your  pastor,  come  into  the  warm  and  health- 
ful fellowship  of  our  church;  we  will  try  to  help  you. 
He  said:  I  may  fall,  I  cannot  trust  myself.  Very 
well,  if  you  fall  we  will  try  to  lift  you  up,  even  though 
it  be  seventy  and  seven  times.  A  few  days  after,  a 
well-intending  Pharisee  from  a  neighboring  church  came 
to  warn  me  from  receiving  this  frail  member.  I  re- 
ferred him  to  Matt.  9: 11-13. 

These  instances,  which  might  be  indefinitely  multi- 
plied, all  reveal  false  conceptions.  If  we  are  to  follow 
Christ,  there  is  only  one  attitude  for  us  to  take.  The 
Church  cannot  adopt  a  policy  of  protection,  she  must 
have  a  free  and  open  market.  She  must  have  no  restric- 
tion of  immigration  to  her  shores.  She  can  require  no 
certificate  of  standing,  no  guaranty  of  moral  health ;  she 
can  have  nothing  but  an  open  door,  to  those  whose  spirit 
sincerely  seeks  her. 

To  the  unbeliever  we  must  say,  Come  in  and  learn 
that  you  may  believe.  To  the  man  who  says  he  has  had 
no  religious  "experience,"  we  must  say.  Come  in  and 
share  the  warmth  of  this  fellowship  and  let  your  affec- 
tions be  touched  by  Christ.  To  the  man  of  moral  weak- 
ness we  must  say,  Come  in  and  share  our  strength.  If 
he  says:  I  am  too  weak  and  unwell,  we  must  respond. 
This  is  the  abiding-place  of  the  greatest  of  physicians. 
If  he  persists  and  tells  us  he  is  afraid  that  he  may 
fall  again,  we  must  say:  If  you  do  we  will  lift  you  up 
even  four  hundred  and  ninety  times. 

The  Church  cannot  be  a  Castle  Garden  with  its 
ofiicers  on  guard.  It  cannot  have  any  quarantine 
station.  If  there  is  any  ground  of  exclusion  whatever 
it  must  be  only  that  which  excludes  the  Pharisee,  who 
thinks  that  he  is  good  enough. 

[464] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  supreme  question  for  us  to-day  is,  Does  the 
Church  dare  to  follow  Jesus  Christ,  to  eat  with  publi- 
cans and  sinners,  to  invite  them  to  her  own  table,  to  let 
the  sinful  women  in  with  their  alabaster  boxes,  to  wel- 
come sinners,  not  simply  to  seek  the  righteous,  to  heal 
the  sick  and  not  the  whole  who  need  no  physician? 
She  must  open  her  doors,  not  the  doors  of  wood,  but 
the  doors  of  her  fellowship,  to  every  human  child  of  the 
Father  who  knocks;  and  if  he  is  too  weak  to  knock  we 
must  knock  for  him. 

It  is  answered  that  such  a  Church  would  invite 
criticism.  So  it  would.  The  Pharisee  would  say.  This 
church  eateth  with  publicans  and  sinners.  We  must 
take  our  choice  between  Christ  and  his  critics.  It  often 
happens  that  the  frailty  of  our  church-members,  which 
has  been  made  the  unjust  cause  of  criticism,  is  really  the 
best  evidence  of  the  Christlikeness  of  the  Church. 

Shall  she  gather  from  the  world  for  the  sake  of  her- 
self, or  shall  she  give  herself  for  the  sake  of  the  world? 
Shall  she  invite  to  her  table  not  only  the  worthy,  but  the 
needy?  Let  us  be  brave  enough  to  get  rid  of  all  our 
false  conditions.  Let  us  no  longer  shut  up  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  with  the  keys  of  doctrine.  Let  us  get 
absolutely  rid  of  our  lingering  idea  of  the  Christian 
Church  as  a  collection  of  Pharisees,  who  may  thank  God 
that  they  are  not  as  other  men  are. 

Let  us  look  back  at  the  Church  as  Jesus  initiated  it. 
His  church  was  a  strange  gathering  in  the  eyes  of  the 
churchmen  of  his  time.  He  ate  with  publicans  and 
sinners.  The  Pharisees  were  always  pointing  at  him 
and  saying,  "Look  at  his  methods,  look  at  his  liberalism, 
look  at  his  associates."  It  was  a  strange  collection  when 
we  come  to  think  of  it,  that  gathering  of  his  intimate  dis- 

[  465  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ciples.  There  were  rough,  uncouth  fishermen.  There 
was  Matthew  of  the  despised  class  of  publicans.  There 
were  the  sinful  women  at  his  feet,  and  Peter  who  was 
profane  imder  excitement.  While  the  Master  came  to 
know  Judas  before  his  base  betrayal,  he  never  excom- 
municated him  from  that  chosen  circle.  Again  and 
again  these  disciples  of  his  failed  him  and  misunderstood 
him,  but  he  never  allowed  that  for  one  moment  to  make 
a  break  in  their  sacred  fellowship. 

I  know  perfectly  well  that  this  raises  difficult  prob- 
lems so  far  as  the  formal  constitution  of  the  Church  is 
concerned.  I  do  not  know,  I  frankly  confess,  just  what 
we  can  do  in  an  attempt  to  make  a  truer  adjustment 
so  far  as  the  membership  roll  of  the  Church  is  concerned. 
So  far,  however,  as  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  is  con- 
cerned, I  feel  very  sure  that  Jesus  was  right,  and  that 
he  did  not  set  us  a  bad  example.  I  feel  very  sure  that 
we  should  be  safe  in  a  serious  attempt  to  follow  his 
example  even  if  it  did  raise  difficulties  with  our  consti- 
tution and  by-laws. 

I  also  feel  perfectly  sure  that  what  I  have  suggested 
is  readily  susceptible  to  misinterpretation  and  misunder- 
standing, although  in  the  main  our  churches  have  largely 
followed  the  very  procedure  I  have  outlined,  under  the 
sense  of  moral  necessity. 

Does  this  mean  a  Church  that  ignores  truth,  neglects 
religion,  and  countenances  sin?  By  no  means.  The 
open-door  church  must  be  a  strong  church,  with  earnest 
seekers  and  upholders  of  truth,  with  symbolism  that  shall 
appeal  to  the  imagination,  full  of  religious  contagion, 
and  above  all  with  men  and  women  of  great  moral 
strength. 

The  ideal  church  will  have  in  its  fellowship  both  the 

[466] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

strong  and  the  weak  in  faith,  in  sense,  in  religious  feel- 
ing and  in  moral  character,  in  order  that  the  strong  may 
be  there  to  help  the  weak,  and  the  weak,  that  they  may 
receive  the  strength  of  the  strong. 

We  must  distinguish  between  her  conditions  of  fel- 
lowship and  her  ideals.  The  conditions  cannot  be  too 
broad  nor  the  ideal  requirements  too  exacting.  But 
we  must  remember  inequalities  of  privilege  and  oppor- 
tunity in  the  exaction  of  actual  requirements.  What 
hurts  the  Church — the  falling  of  some  poor  frail  crea- 
ture of  her  fellowship?  No,  it  is  when  her  strong  men 
fail  and  fall. 

We  must  take  the  publicans  and  sinners  with  us  to 
hear  the  searching  sermon  on  the  mount.  But  we  must 
have  them  "with  us."  Every  church  must  have  her 
seventy  disciples,  her  eleven  faithful  apostles,  and  her 
Johns. 

Why  do  we  not  reach  the  great  masses  of  needy  men 
and  women?  Why,  just  because  we  do  not  reach  them. 
We  have  tried  to  do  it  at  arm's  length.  They  are  both 
afraid  of  us  and  in  doubt  about  us.  We  have  put  up 
impassable  barriers  and  beckoned  to  men  from  inac- 
cessible summits.  If  we  are  going  to  cure  the  sick  we 
must  let  them  into  the  hospital  first. 

We  shall  make  the  Church  strong  when  we  thus 
make  it  for  the  weak.  We  can  risk  it.  The  gospel  of 
Jesus  is  the  solvent  that  will  bring  coherency  out  of 
incoherency.  Its  leaven  will  do  its  work.  The  strong 
men  of  the  Church  will  become  stronger  by  having  the 
weak  beside  them  and  by  the  giving  of  their  strength. 
The  weak  will  become  stronger  from  the  touch  of  the 
strong.  But  the  touch  must  be,  not  of  the  finger-tips, 
but  of  the  whole  hand.    It  must  be  the  contact,  not  of 

[  467  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

mere  example;  it  must  be  that  of  fellowship  and  com- 
munion. 

We  must  change  the  Church  from  a  gallery  of 
fine  arts  to  an  asylum;  for  the  weak-minded  in  faith, 
for  those  who  have  fallen  in  moral  weakness,  for  frail 
sinning  men  and  women,  for  the  sick,  the  lame,  the  halt, 
the  blind.  The  deeper  the  need,  the  warmer  and  closer 
must  be  the  fellowship. 

We  need  to-day  a  magnificently  reckless  Church, 
who  will  not  be  afraid  of  her  reputation,  even  though 
it  may  bring  her  to  the  cross.  He  bare  the  sins  of  men 
in  his  own  body  on  the  tree;  so  it  has  been  said  of  Christ. 
The  Church  must  bear  the  sins  of  men  in  her  own  body, 
by  the  side  of  the  cross.  Let  her  dare  to  give  and  lose 
her  life,  for  thus  only,  according  to  her  Lord  and  Mas- 
ter, can  she  save  her  life  by  losing  it. 

I  went  into  a  hospital  the  other  day.  I  witnessed  a 
parable.  A  pale,  weak,  bloodless  man  was  carried  in. 
He  was  not  strong  enough  to  walk.  He  did  not  even 
come  of  his  own  volition.  Following  him  came  a  great, 
strong,  stalwart  man,  glowing  with  health.  They  bared 
an  arm  of  each  man.  They  brought  them  into  fellow- 
ship by  a  conductor  which  carried  the  rich  blood  of  the 
strong  into  the  frail  body  of  the  weak.  That  should  be 
the  Church. 

The  ideals  of  the  Church  cannot  be  too  high.  But 
her  doors  cannot  open  too  wide.  Does  the  Church  of 
to-day  dare  to  follow  Jesus  Christ?  Will  she  save  her 
life  by  losing  it;  or  go  on  losing  it  because  she  saves  it? 

I  do  not  feel  at  all  sure  that  the  first  question  asked 
in  the  letter  inviting  this  contribution  necessarily  leads 
to  the  further  question. 

[  468  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

What  I  have  attempted  to  indicate  has  relatively 
little  bearing  upon  the  theology  of  the  Church.  I  sup- 
pose it  goes  without  saying  that  our  religious  experience 
must  express  itself  in  intellectual  terms.  Indeed  a  great 
theology  and  a  spacious  Christology  are  the  main  things 
needed  as  we  face  the  social  order  to-day.  Our  theology 
must  be  rooted  in  the  past,  must  comprehend  and  in- 
terpret the  present,  and  shed  light  upon  the  future. 

I  am,  however,  more  and  more  inclined  to  the  feel- 
ing that  we  must  not  substitute  our  poor,  feeble  at- 
tempts at  the  intellectual  expression  of  our  religious 
faith  for  our  religious  faith  itself.  Our  experience  must 
shape  our  theology.  It  has  been  man's  too  exclusive  use 
of  the  intellectual  in  religion  that  has  led  to  the  anoma- 
lies and  inconsistencies  which  I  have  endeavored  to  sug- 
gest. It  was  Jesus,  be  it  remembered,  who  laid  the 
obligation  on  his  followers  to  use  the  intellect  in  relig- 
ion. But  he  put  it  in  a  very  striking  way.  He  spoke 
of  the  "affection"  of  the  intellect.  Man  must  love  God 
with  the  mind.  He  believed  that  God  and  the  eternal 
order  were  worthy  of  the  thought  of  man. 

In  the  life  of  religion  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
and  the  affection  of  consecrated  devotion  are  thus  by 
God  joined  together  and  may  not  by  man  be  put 
asunder.  Religion  is  both  thought  and  feeling.  Only 
an  artificial  distinction  separates  the  two.  Theology  is 
an  eternally  enduring  science.  Religion,  without  it,  is 
like 

"An  infant  crying  in  the  night; 
An  infant  crying  for  the  light; 
And  with  no  language  but  a  cry." 

God  is  the  infinite  subject  of  which  the  congregation 
of  objects  in  nature  is  one  expression.     Nature  is  an 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

organism  of  intelligible  things.  God  is  himself  the 
eternal  intellect.  While  there  cannot  be  antagonism 
between  the  two,  antithesis  there  must  be.  No  one  can 
bow  in  reverence  to  a  nature  below  him  or  to  an  idea 
within  him.  Religion,  therefore,  in  its  soul  is  reverence 
and  homage  to  a  supreme  Mind  and  Will.  To  such  a 
Being  there  cannot  fail  to  be  a  pathway  from  the  sensi- 
tive, the  intellectual  and  the  moral  highways  of  human 
life.  Conscience  may  act  as  human  before  it  is  dis- 
covered to  be  divine.  It  does  not  reach  its  height  until 
the  discovery  is  made. 

In  both  worshiper  and  worshiped,  there  must  be 
the  same  conscious  moral  order;  one  the  infinite  arche- 
type, the  other,  the  finite  image,  susceptible  to  ap- 
peal and  capable  of  response.  The  moral  consciousness 
of  man  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  profound  and 
momentous  questions  as  to  whether  its  sovereign  in- 
timations are  verifiable  and  its  relations  eternal.  Ethics 
inevitably  perfect  themselves  in  religion  or  degrade 
themselves  into  some  lurking  form  of  hedonism.  The 
life  of  duty  must  become  the  life  of  an  enlightened 
affection.  This  moral  relation  between  man  and  God 
needs  to  be  adjusted  to  the  order  of  the  universe.  Im- 
personal impulse  must  become  personal  affection  and 
intelligent  conviction. 

The  deeper  man's  religious  experience  becomes  in 
the  realm  of  the  temporal,  the  profounder  is  his 
earnest  interest  in  the  eternal,  as  "deep  calleth  unto 
deep."    Thus 

"Belief  or  unbelief 
Bears  upon  life,  determines  its  whole  course." 

But  our  theology  must  be  one  that  lets  the  human 
affection  have  its  play  in  the  attempts  of  the  human 

[470] 


.  THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

intelligence  to  give  expression  to  religion,  and  the 
experience  of  life  must  guide  our  thought,  even  as  that 
experience  is  shaped  by  thought. 

"Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more; 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell. 
Till  mind  and  heart  according  well. 
Shall  make  one  music  as  before. 
But  vaster.** 


[471] 


EDWIN   MARKHAM, 

WEST  NEW  BRIGHTON,   N.   Y. 

Poet,  writer,  and  lecturer;  born  at  Oregon  City,  Ore., 
April  23,  1852;  went  to  California  in  1857,  where  he 
worked  at  farming,  blacksmithing,  herding  cattle  and 
sheep  during  boyhood;  educated  at  the  San  Jose  Normal 
School  and  two  Western  colleges;  took  up  special  studies 
in  ancient  and  modern  literature,  also  Christian  sociology; 
principal  and  superintendent  of  schools  in  California  until 
1889;  has  written  poems  since  early  boyhood;  author  of 
The  Man  with  the  Hoe,  and  Other  Poems;  The  Man  with 
the  Hoe,  with  Notes  by  the  Author;  Lincoln,  and  Other 
Poems.  (In  preparation)  The  Poetry  of  Jesus  (essays) ; 
Virgilia  and  Other  Poems;  New  Light  on  the  Old  Riddle; 
edited  The  Remarkable  Writings  of  Thomas  Lake  Harris; 
wrote  The  Social  Conscience  and  The  Hoe-Man  in  the 
Making,  a  series  of  magazine  articles  covering  the  problem 
of  child-labor. 

THE  CHRIST  CULTURE  A  CULTURE  IN 
BROTHERHOOD 

I  THINK  that  Lincoln's  statement  is  correct  as  far  as 
it  goes.  The  Church  certainly  needs  to  adopt  a  simpler 
creed — ^to  throw  out  the  metaphysics  and  to  take  her 
stand  upon  the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  fatherhood 
of  God.  Let  the  Church  be  the  rallying  ground  of  all 
those  who  would  fire  their  mind  with  "the  mind  of 
Christ,"  all  those  who  would  make  practical  loving 
the  guide  of  their  existence. 

And  in  addition  to  this  the  Church  should  direct 
her  energies  along  the  lines  of  the  social  questions  of 
the  hour.  She  should  become  the  leader  of  the  nation 
in  all  the  moral  adventures  of  the  age.  There  should 
be  a  continual  cry  from  her  walls  and  towers  against 

[472] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

all  the  wrongs  of  the  time — against  child-labor,  white 
slavery,  the  oppression  of  the  poor,  the  irreligion  of 
the  competitive  struggle,  and  the  irreligion  of  the  cruel 
riches  side  by  side  with  the  cruel  poverties.  Christ 
was  radical,  so  the  Church  that  takes  his  name  ought 
also  to  be  radical. 

Let  the  Church  simplify  her  creed,  put  on  her 
militant  garments,  and  cry  forth  the  social  gospel  of 
the  heroic  Christ.  Then  men  will  turn  to  her  gladly 
— all  men  that  have  earnest  hearts. 

The  Church  must  take  on  her  social  form.  She 
must  seek  a  new  departure:  she  must  begin  to  organ- 
ize the  industries  in  the  spirit  of  the  sermon  on  the 
mount.  The  world  cannot  be  lifted  until  Christ  the 
Artizan  is  enthroned  in  the  temple  of  labor,  until  the 
golden  rule  is  made  the  working  principle  of  life.  For 
the  Christ  culture  is  a  culture  in  brotherhood.  But 
brotherhood  is  nothing  so  long  as  it  is  left  hanging  in 
thin  air:  hence  the  Church  must  discover  the  economics 
of  brotherhood,  must  find  a  material  basis  for  brother- 
hood. 

And  only  in  this  way  can  men  answer  the  great 
prayer,  "Thy  kingdom  come  on  earth."  For  be  it 
known  that  men  must  help  God  to  answer  their 
prayer.  It  is  as  much  man's  business  to  answer 
prayer  as  it  is  God's.  But  men  have  failed  to  answer 
the  great  prayer  for  a  new  social  order  on  earth,  an 
order  that  would  serve  as  an  outward  and  visible 
providence  for  the  race.  Men  ask  to  go  to  heaven; 
but  how  can  they  hope  to  be  taken  into  a  kingdom  of 
heaven  hereafter  if  they  make  no  serious  effort  to  or- 
ganize a  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  world? 

The  Christ  is  in  the  social  passion  that  is  beginning 

[473] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  sweep  as  a  new  fire  over  the  cold  world.  As  far 
as  I  can  see,  the  Church  must  take  on  her  social  form 
or  perish.  She  must  become  less  ecclesiastical  and 
more  humanitary.  However  it  was  in  the  past,  there 
is  now  no  salvation  for  the  people  but  social  salvation. 
The  star  to  light  her  path  is  the  star  of  brotherhood. 
Fraternity — ^it  is  the  most  sacred  of  all  words:  it  is 
the  essence  of  all  gospels  and  the  fulfilment  of  all  rev- 
elations. Let  the  Church,  then,  rise  to  her  great  mis- 
sion, let  her  resolve  to  make  the  State  the  organ  of 
fraternity.    For  her  I  sing  a  Song  of  Brotherhood: 

The  crest  and  crowning  of  all  good. 
Life's  final  star,  is  Brotherhood; 
For  it  will  bring  again  to  Earth 
Her  long-lost  Poesy  and  Mirth; 
Will  send  new  light  on  every  face, 
A  kingly  power  upon  the  race. 
And  till  it  comes,  we  men  are  slaves. 
And  travel  downward  to  the  dust  of  graves. 

Come,  clear  the  way,  then,  clear  the  way: 
Blind  creeds  and  kings  have  had  their  day. 
Break  the  dead  branches  from  the  path; 
Our  hope  is  in  the  aftermath — 
Our  hope  is  in  heroic  men. 
Star-led  to  build  the  world  again. 
To  this  event  the  ages  ran: 
Make  way  for  Brotherhood — ^make  way  for  Man! 

All  this  points  the  way  for  a  new  working  creed  for 
the  Church;  and  this  creed  will  keep  men  so  busy  with 
the  questions  of  the  here  and  now  that  they  will  have 
no  time  to  fight  about  the  abstruse  metaphysics  of  the- 
ology. God  and  the  people,  Christ  and  the  brother! — 
let  these  be  the  battle-cries  of  the  coming  centuries. 


[474] 


SCOTT   NEARING,   Ph.D., 

GERMANTOWN,    PA. 

Instructor  of  economics  at  Swarthmore  (Pa.)  College  since 
I9O8;  born  at  Morris  Run,  Pa.,  August  6,  1883;  received 
his  education  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  Tem- 
ple University,  Philadelphia;  secretary  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Child  Labor  Commission,  1905-07;  instructor  of 
economics.  University  of  Pennsylvania,  since  1906;  author 
of  Economics;  Social  Adjustment;  Solution  of  the  Child 
Labor  Problem;  Wages  in  the  United  States;  Super-Race; 
Woman  and  Social  Progress;  Social  Sanity. 

THE    CONTENT    OF    A    SOCIAL    RELIGION 

Perhaps  the  time  has  not  yet  arrived  when  it  is  pos- 
sible to  formulate  the  content  of  a  social  religion  in 
incontrovertible  terms;  nevertheless  it  is  possible  to 
indicate,  roughly,  the  line  along  which  the  formulation 
of  an  effective  social  religion  must  proceed. 

For  convenience  of  statement,  a  social  religion  may 
be  analyzed  into  three  parts:  1,  the  theory;  2,  the  ma- 
chinery; 3,  the  application. 

Each  part  logically  follows  the  part  preceding  it — 
without  a  theory,  without  a  goal,  no  machinery  can  be 
erected;  without  an  ideal  and  a  system,  religion  can 
never  be  applied. 

The  theory  of  religion,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called 
theology,  represents  the  background  of  faith  and 
belief  on  which  religion  is  founded.  The  scribes  and 
Pharisees  understood  their  theology  thoroughly.  They 
had  spent  decades  in  formulating  beliefs  or  theories 
about  God  and  his  kingdom.  If  you  will  read  the 
twenty-third  chapter  of  Matthew  you  will  learn  what 

[475] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Jesus  thought  of  these  theories.  His  ideas  are  force- 
ful if  not  exactly  nice. 

Such  a  savage  condemnation  of  the  ideas  advanced 
by  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  does  not,  however,  mean  a 
condemnation  of  all  theology.  Jesus  laid  down  his 
theory  in  unmistakable  terms.  "Love  thy  God,"  said 
he,  "and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  That  is  the  extent 
of  the  theology  of  Jesus.  Formulated,  his  doctrine 
might  appear  thus:  I.  The  Theory  of  Social  Relig- 
ion— 1,  belief  in  God;  2,  belief  in  men. 

How  divinely  simple;  how  wonderfully  grand! 
We  are  to  found  our  lives  on  God — good — a  spirit  that 
must  be  worshiped  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

The  theory  of  our  faith  must  be  judged  by  the 
practise  of  our  works.  It  is  not  enough  that  we  be- 
lieve; we  must  do.  Let  me  suggest  that  the  things 
needed  for  putting  social  religion  into  practise  are — 
1,  sjnnpathy;  2,  inspiration;  3,  efficiency. 

Those  men  who  aim  to  make  their  religion  prac- 
ticable must  possess  these  attributes :  sympathy,  inspira- 
tion, efficiency.  It  is  idle  to  talk  of  the  function  of  the 
Church  as  if  the  Church  was  an  individual  that,  like 
Lazarus,  would  arise  and  walk.  The  Church  is  an  in- 
stitution, the  work  of  which  must  necessarily  be  done 
by  men,  hence  it  is  the  attributes  of  the  men  that  really 
count  in  the  determination  of  church  activity.  You 
cannot  touch  the  hem  of  your  neighbor's  soul  without 
sympathy.  To  live  as  a  social  being  in  a  social  group; 
to  practise  a  social  religion;  to  keep  your  soul  open 
for  belief  in  men,  there  must  be  that  inspiration — that 
divine  fire  which  animates  every  individual  man  and 
woman  who  is  born  into  the  world.  To  do  is  well;  to 
do  right  is  better;  but  to  do  right  in  the  best  possible 

[476] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

manner  is  best  of  all.  No  machinery  can  be  eifect- 
tive  unless  to  its  inspiration  and  sympathy  is  joined 
eflSciency. 

When  the  theory  has  been  accepted  and  the  ma- 
chinery evolved,  there  yet  remains  the  application  of 
a  social  religion — an  application  which  involves,  1,  clean 
living;  2,  social  service;  3,  social  justice. 

There  are,  therefore,  two  elements — an  individual 
and  a  social — ^in  the  practice  of  social  religion.  The 
individual  has  a  machine  with  which  he  must  do  his 
work.  That  machine — ^his  body  and  soul — must  be 
kept  in  repair,  cleaned,  exercised,  developed.  "He  that 
ruleth  his  spirit  is  always  greater  than  he  that  taketh 
a  city." 

The  practise  of  social  religion,  like  charity,  begins 
at  home,  in  the  individual  life. 

When  the  individual  life  is  clean,  or,  indeed,  while 
it  is  being  cleansed,  it  may,  through  social  service, 
assist  in  erecting  social  justice.  In  the  home,  the  street, 
the  school,  the  factory,  men  may  serve  their  neighbors 
— binding  up  their  wounds,  pouring  in  oil  and  wine, 
caring  for  them,  and  calling  solicitously  again  to  see 
that  they  have  fully  recovered  and  are  able  to  discharge 
their  debts.  Such  was  the  service  of  the  Good  Samari- 
tan. Such  is  the  service  of  any  one  who  cheerfully  as- 
sists in  making  lighter  the  burden  of  his  fellow. 

Without  opportunity  men  and  women  are  born  and 
live  and  die  in  squalor.  Universalize  and  revolutionize 
education  until  it  prepares  children  for  life;  then  uni- 
versalize opportunity  until  every  adult  has  a  chance  to 
show  what  powers  lie  in  him.  So  you  shall  establish 
justice  to  complete  the  practise  of  your  social  religion. 

[477] 


FRANCIS   GREENWOOD   PEABODY, 
D.D.,   LL.D., 

CAMBRIDGE,   MASS. 

Plummer  professor  of  Christian  Morals,  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, since  1886;  born  in  Boston,  Dec.  4,  1847;  graduated 
from  Harvard  University,  1869,  and  Harvard  Divinity 
School,  1872;  pastor  of  First  Parish  Church,  Cambridge, 
1874-80;  Parkman  professor  of  theology.  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, 1881-86;  author  of  Mornings  in  the  College  Chapel; 
Short  Addresses  to  Young  Men  on  Personal  Religion; 
Founders*  Day  at  Hampton;  Afternoons  in  the  College 
Chapel;  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question;  Religion 
of  an  Educated  Man;  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Char- 
acter; The  Approach  to  the  Social  Question;  Sunday 
Evenings  in  the  College  Chapel, 

I  ENTIRELY  concur  with  the  view  of  Lincoln  cited  in 
your  letter.  For  my  own  part  I  have  always  been 
unable  to  associate  myself  with  any  evangelical  church, 
not  only  because  of  "complicated  statements  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine,"  but  also  because  such  a  basis  of  worship 
and  work  seems  to  me  intrinsically  contrary  to  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ.  One  may  assent  with  com- 
plete conviction  to  all  the  traditional  creeds  of  the 
Church  and  yet  not  be  a  Christian  at  all.  The  creeds 
say  nothing  of  conduct,  character,  discipleship,  loyalty, 
obedience,  or  love;  and  these  are  obviously  of  the  es- 
sence of  the  gospel.  The  human  life  and  teaching  of 
Jesus,  between  his  birth  and  resurrection,  is  not  even 
a  subject  of  the  creeds.  A  believer  in  the  virgin  birth 
and  in  the  descent  into  hell  may  at  the  same  time  be 
dishonest  or  unchaste.  The  Church  cannot,  I  think, 
hope  to  recover  the  loyalty  of  modern  men  imtil  it  ac- 

[  478  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

cepts  the  sufficiency  of  the  two  great  commandments 
which  Jesus  himself  recommended,  and  reasserts  the 
simplicity  which  is  toward  Christ. 

"And  I  remember  still 
The  words  and  from  whence  they  came^ 
Not  he  that  repeateth  the  name^ 
But  he  that  doeth  the  will." 


[479] 


ANALYSIS  AND  SUMMARY 


[481] 


CLARENCE   AUGUSTINE    BECKWITH, 

S.T.D., 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 

Professor  of  systematic  theology,  Chicago  Theological 
Seminary,  since  1905;  born  at  Charlemont,  Mass.,  July  21, 
1849;  studied  at  Olivet  (Mich.)  College,  Yale  Divinity 
School,  Bangor  Theological  Seminary,  University  of  Ber- 
lin; ordained  to  the  Congregational  ministry  1877;  pastor 
of  the  First  Congregational  Church,  Brewer,  Me.,  1877-82; 
of  the  South  Evangelical  Congregational  Church,  West 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  1882-92;  professor  of  Christian  theology, 
Bangor  Theological  Seminary,  1892-1905;  editor  of  the 
departments  of  theology,  philosophy,  and  ethics  in  the  Nero 
Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowledge;  au- 
thor of  Realities  of  Christian  Theology. 

ANALYSIS  AND  SUMMARY 

This  analysis  and  summary  of  the  foregoing  papers 
will  present  in  a  single  view  the  chief  points  in  the  an- 
swers to  the  three  questions  proposed.  (1)  Why  are 
so  many  people  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  church? 
(2)  Should  persons  be  asked  to  subscribe  to  statements 
dealing  with  debated  and  controversial  matters,  or  to 
a  declaration  like  Lincoln's?  (3)  What  should  be  the 
basis  and  direction  of  a  fundamental  theology  of  the 
Church  as  related  to  the  literary,  scientific,  and  phil- 
osophical certainties  of  our  time,  i.e.,  to  the  values  of 
human  life  whatever  their  source? 


The  single  fact  upon  which  the  writers  are  agreed  is 
that  of  the  present  indifference  toward  the  Church; 
there  is,  however,  only  partial  agreement  concerning 

[483] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  extent  and  cause  of  this  indifference.  Some  hold 
that  it  is  not  as  great  as  formerly — it  is  not,  there- 
fore, a  new  phenomenon ;  others  assume  that  it  is  a  pres- 
ent day  problem  and  is  on  the  increase,  to  be  referred 
to  certain  general  conditions.  (1)  Creeds  which  are 
prescribed  as  requisite  to  church  membership.  These 
are  either  weak,  vague,  and  unreasonable,  or  else  in- 
clusive of  too  much.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  little 
appreciation  of  the  historic  creeds  and  the  basis  of  be- 
lief is  too  indefinite;  there  is  no  appeal  to  great  loyal- 
ties. On  the  other  hand,  the  creeds  either  contain  ma- 
terial, as  metaphysics,  which  does  not  belong  there,  or 
are  full  of  unsupported  and  unprovable  assertions, 
while  their  tone  is  inconsistent  with  the  spiritual  life  or 
the  social  movements  of  to-day,  such  as  individualism,  de- 
mocracy, universal  education,  and  the  spirit  of  research. 
(2)  The  Church,  as  a  teaching  or  working  organization, 
invites  indifference.  Its  teaching  is  remote  from  life, 
lacks  the  note  of  reality,  is  behind  the  age  in  science  and 
social  questions,  and  fails  in  leadership  in  great  social 
activities.  (3)  Indifference  is  increased  both  by  the 
theology  for  which  the  Church  stands  and  by  the  fact 
that  men  confuse  the  Church  with  dogmatic  theology 
which  is  repugnant  to  them.  (4)  Ministers  come  in  for 
their  share  of  responsibility  for  this  condition.  They 
are  deficient  either  in  their  personal  qualities  as  minis- 
ters or  in  their  leadership  of  the  Church's  activities  or 
their  message  is  not  in  harmony  with  present  Christian 
ideals.  (5)  Competing  attractions,  as  Sunday  news- 
papers or  week-end  visits,  providing  respite  from  the 
increasing  pressure  of  business,  draw  men  away  from 
the  Church.  (6)  Other  activities  outside  of  the  Church 
as  such,  all  legitimate  and  needful  for  social  welfare 

[484] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

— ^the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  scores  of  agencies  for  human 
betterment,  enlist  an  increasing  body  of  workers  who 
would  once  have  found  their  opportunity  in  the  Church. 
(7)  Indifference  to  the  Church  is  only  another  symp- 
tom of  general  indifference  which  appears  elsewhere  in 
politics  and  other  spheres  of  responsibility.  (8)  There 
are  those  for  whom  the  Church  will  always  be  too  nar- 
row— a  fact  which  argues  perhaps  no  reproach  against 
their  moral  character,  their  religious  idealism,  or  even 
against  the  Church.  (9)  A  growing  disbelief  in  a  per- 
sonal God  among  those  who  are  trained  in  purely  sci- 
entific or  philosophical  directions  has  made  the  faith  on 
which  the  Church  is  founded  impossible  and  turned 
them  from  it  so  far  as  it  represents  a  theology.  (10) 
More  special  causes  of  indifference  are  alleged,  some  of 
which  are  the  natural  repugnance  of  the  natural  man  tQ 
religion  as  embodied  in  the  Church,  unawakened  con- 
science or  religious  sense,  intense  individualism  caring 
only  for  personal  religion,  desire  for  independence, 
frivolous  expectations  as  to  the  outcome  of  life,  un- 
admirable  character  of  many  church  members,  the 
Church's  class  consciousness,  maladjustment  to  social 
needs  or  ignorance  or,  worse,  timidity  in  dealing  with 
social  injustice.  On  the  other  hand,  people  are  weary 
of  hearing  only  of  this  present  world — things  political, 
social,  economic — and  because  the  Church  does  not  min- 
ister to  their  craving  to  hear  about  another  life — ^re- 
ligion— they  seek  elsewhere  for  the  satisfaction  of  their 
desire. 

II 

With  reference  to  the  second  question  concerning 
creed  subscription,  the  replies  betray  a  wide  diversity 

[485] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  judgment.  There  is  indeed  a  general  agreement  that 
Lincoln,  were  he  living,  could  to-day  join  almost  any 
Christian  church ;  and  yet  this  touches  but  the  fringe  of 
the  subject.  The  discussion  has  opened  up  the  whole 
question  of  terms  of  admission  to  the  Church.  (1) 
Many  regard  Lincoln's  program  without  modification 
as  itself  adequate ;  for  this  several  reasons  are  assigned. 
It  is  better  to  choose  the  largest  possible  basis,  since 
many  can  accept  only  a  moral  message.  To  be  disciples 
of  Christ  is  more  important  than  to  assent  to  all  the 
terms  of  a  church  creed.  Obligation  is  shifted  from  the 
intellect  to  the  will.  The  modern  man  will  yield  his 
loyalty  when  the  Church  reasserts  the  simplicity  that  is 
in  Christ.  Some  of  the  replies  hold,  however,  that  Lin- 
coln's platform  involves  more  than  appears  at  first 
sight.  It  does  not  define  God  whether  as  pantheistic 
or  otherwise;  neither  does  it  deliver  from  theological  or 
other  divisive  problems.  Other  criticisms  of  this  posi- 
tion are  that  these  words  of  Christ  are  law,  not  gospel, 
an  injunction,  not  a  creed,  pre-Christian,  not  Christian, 
and  the  church  which  adopted  this  would  be  reactionary 
and  not  Christian  at  all.  Moreover,  this  is  not  definite 
enough  for  church  membership.  Furthermore,  it  is 
powerless  to  create  the  spirit  of  love  or  obedience — 
Christ  alone  can  impart  this.  Finally,  Lincoln's  pro- 
posal is  not  crystallized  about  Christ. 

(2)  Others  would  require  a  different  basis  for 
church  membership,  e.g.,  Lincoln's  suggestion  modified 
in  connection  with  the  Lord's  prayer,  or  the  Apostles' 
Creed  interpreted  either  broadly,  or  literally,  without 
paltering  or  equivocation,  or  the  Apostles'  Creed  in 
combination  with  the  Scriptures,  or  in  addition  to  this 
creed  the  Lord's  prayer  or  the  Nicene  Creed.    It  was, 

[  486  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

however,  objected  to  the  Nicene  Creed  that  it  was  de- 
fective, since  it  contains  no  allusion  to  the  ethical  or 
social  aspects  of  religion.  Several  replies  advocate 
much  fuller  requirements,  as  confession  of  God,  deity 
of  Christ,  i.e.,  Christ  was  perfect  God  and  perfect  man, 
preexistent,  born  of  a  virgin,  performed  miracles,  died 
as  atonement  for  sin  and  guilt,  deity  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  Trinity,  repentance,  faith,  and  holiness,  the  or- 
dained ministry,  and  the  sacraments.  That  these  tenets 
involve  debated  and  controversial  questions  is  claimed 
to  be  no  valid  objection  to  the  inclusion  of  them.  Some 
minds  are  so  formed  as  to  wish  for  controversy,  by 
which  the  value  of  truth  is  enhanced.  Besides,  every- 
thing important  is  debated,  the  only  question  concerns 
the  soundness  and  wholesomeness  of  the  Christian  posi- 
tions. These  are  the  more  liable  to  debate  since  they- 
embody  the  historical  events  in  which  God's  grace  is  re- 
vealed; and  they  are  not  rational  axioms  but  subjects 
of  saving  faith.  The  Church  ought  to  stand  for  some- 
thing, to  know  what  it  stands  for,  and  not  be  persuaded 
to  sacrifice  its  leadership. 

(3)  A  very  considerable  number  of  the  replies 
would  make  Christ  central.  Thus  the  minimum  confes- 
sion would  include  the  divinity  of  Christ  or  Jesus  as 
Lord  as  the  bedrock  on  which  the  Church  is  founded. 
Enormous  potential  energy  is  conserved  by  retention 
of  reference  to  Jesus  in  the  membership  formula,  for  it 
is  in  this  way  that  loyalty  to  Christianity  has  been 
evolved.  A  formula  to  which  several  gave  emphatic 
assent  is  thus  expressed:  "I  believe  in  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  his  only  Son  our  Lord  and  Saviour." 

(4)  Several  would  dispense  with  any  formal  creed 
as  condition  of  church  membership,  partly  because  a 

[487] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

creed  reduces  Christianity  to  opinion,  and  opinion  is  al- 
ways divisive,  partly  that  there  is  no  relation  between 
intellectual  judgment  and  spiritual  growth,  and  partly 
that  the  intellectual  contents  of  a  creed  presuppose  ex- 
perience, whereas,  for  those  who  unite  with  the  Church, 
experience  is  only  in  its  initial  stage. 

(5)  Two  other  courses  were  suggested.  Since  a 
covenant  offers  the  creed  in  practical  terms,  this  is  pro- 
posed in  place  of  the  creed  as  a  condition  of  member- 
ship. The  declaration  of  "purpose"  was  also  offered  as 
a  substitute  for  creed  subscription.  This  purpose  as- 
sumes allegiance  to  Christ  as  his  disciples,  or  avowed 
loyalty  to  God.  There  was  also  emphasis  on  the  eth- 
ical and  social,  concerning  which  the  ancient  creeds  are 
mainly  silent.  In  case  purpose  becomes  the  uniting 
principle,  then  religion  takes  its  place  as  the  chief  inter- 
est in  life. 

Ill 

The  third  question,  concerning  the  relation  of  fun- 
damental theology  to  literary,  scientific,  and  philosoph- 
ical certainties,  brought  out  replies  touching  the  basis 
of  theology,  its  relation  to  metaphysics,  its  develop- 
ment, and  finally  its  bearing  on  the  certainties  indi- 
cated. 

(1)  As  to  its  basis,  the  chief  points  developed  were 
that  it  must  be  thoroughly  theistic,  having  its  roots  in 
religion,  in  the  New  Testament  presentation  and  in- 
terpretation of  Jesus  Christ,  in  Christian  experience, 
and  in  the  social  consciousness.  Theology,  if  it  is  to  be 
Christian,  finds  in  the  teaching  and  especially  in  the 
person  of  Christ  its  source,  its  content,  and  its  ideal. 
As  interpretation  of  Christian  experience,  it  cannot  go 

[488] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

beyond  what  is  implied  in  the  experience.  And  because 
this  experience  is  not  merely  individual  but  essentially 
social,  its  chief  task  is  the  interpretation  of  the  meaning 
of  life  in  terms  of  the  social  ideal. 

(2)  As  to  the  critical  question  concerning  the  rela- 
tion of  theology  to  metaphysics,  opinions  differ.  Some 
would  retain  metaphysics,  even  if  this  gave  rise  to  dis- 
cussion and  controversy,  others  would  eliminate  meta- 
physics, and  that  too  for  several  reasons.  First,  there 
is  the  opposition  of  the  traditional  and  the  rational; 
then,  modern  intelligence  does  not  correspond  with  an- 
cient notions ;  again,  the  essential  content  of  theology  is 
not  philosophical  but  religious,  not  so  much  concerned 
with  ideas  as  with  life ;  finally,  as  having  to  do  with  the 
saving  grace  of  God,  it  does  not  depend  upon  any  hu- 
man theories  for  either  its  content  or  its  meaning.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  claimed  by  some  that  if  the  creed 
is  a  basis  for  church  membership  and  is  to  be  a  full  one, 
it  must  give  rise  to  a  theology  which  shall  support  it, 
which  may  then  embrace  such  doctrines  as  the  Trinity, 
the  deity  of  Christ,  his  preexistence,  miracles,  and  res- 
urrection, all  of  which  must  seek  in  metaphysics  their 
rational  justification. 

(3)  Concerning  the  development  of  theology,  two 
diametrically  opposite  tendencies  appear.  One  would 
go  back  to  the  essential  principles,  irrespective  of  tran- 
sient forms,  the  other  would  seek  a  restatement  of  the- 
ology, which  is  demanded  by  various  considerations.  It 
ought  to  keep  pace  with  the  present-day  religious  and 
intellectual  revival  and  the  growth  of  intelligence.  As 
contrasted  with  the  almost  exclusive  reference  to  other 
world  interests  and  purely  theological  questions,  atten- 
tion to  the  present  world  and  its  ethical  and  social 

[  489  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

values  is  drawn  into  the  foreground.  Nor  can  theology 
shut  itself  away  from  sharing  the  general  development 
of  the  time.  Furthermore,  there  must  be  freedom  for 
theologizing.  Since,  too,  the  meaning  of  religion 
changes  and  it  must  appeal  to  men  of  every  new  time, 
theology  must  likewise  be  subject  to  change.  Finally, 
because  theology  is  not  based  on  a  closed  revelation, 
and  especially  because  it  is  vital,  it  must  progress. 

(4)  With  reference  to  the  relation  of  theology  to 
literary,  scientific,  and  philosophical  certainties,  three 
general  positions  are  suggested.  First,  these  "certain- 
ties" are  by  no  means  fixed  and  permanent  but  change 
with  changing  intelligence ;  one  should  therefore  not  be 
anxious  to  square  his  theology  with  shifting  notions  of 
science;  the  same  is  true  of  literature  and  philosophy; 
there  are  fashions  in  these  which  to-day  rule  and  to- 
morrow are  discarded.  Secondly,  it  is  maintained  that, 
as  was  indicated  above,  theology  must  be  in  accord 
with  knowledge  or  "certainties"  in  other  spheres.  It 
matters  not  that  these  certainties  change;  theology 
must  change  with  them.  The  purpose  of  intelligence  is 
to  unify  knowledge,  and  since  theology  belongs  to  the 
same  field  of  intelligence  which  is  occupied  by  science 
and  philosophy,  it  must  submit  to  the  same  canons  of 
inquiry,  the  same  rules  of  evidence,  and  the  same  logic 
by  which  conclusions  are  drawn  which  science  itself  has 
to  observe.  Theology  may  arrogate  no  special  pre- 
rogative for  itself;  it  is  worthless  unless  it  accords  with 
every  actually  proved  result  of  historical  or  other  sci- 
entific research.  Thirdly,  because  theology  is  self-suffi- 
cient, being  self-defined,  it  is  therefore  independent  of 
other  branches  of  knowledge.  It  may  indeed  incorpo- 
rate into  its  scheme  what  science  has  to  say  of  God  and 

[490] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

his  world,  but  it  derives  nothing  essential  from  these 
directions,  and  must  not  allow  itself  to  be  enslaved  by 
them.  Theology  has  its  own  sphere;  let  it  be  content 
therein.  Accordingly,  it  is  roundly  affirmed  that  the- 
ology is  unassailable  when  it  keeps  within  its  own  do- 
main; yet  it  will  be  found  in  harmony  with  all  the 
certainties  in  other  fields  of  knowledge.  Or,  since 
theology  has  a  domain  which  is  wholly  peculiar  to  itself, 
any  question  of  harmony  with  other  domains  is  idle — 
the  two  are  absolutely  different.  On  the  other  hand, 
however,  it  is  as  stoutly  asserted  that  theology  which  at 
any  point  touches  the  discoveries  of  science  is  assail- 
able ;  let  it,  therefore,  be  content  with  the  general  spirit 
of  Jesus'  teaching  without  recourse  to  the  Middle  Ages 
on  disputed  matters. 

(5)  Two  widely  different  views  are  expressed  con- 
cerning the  infallibility  of  theology,  some  holding  that 
it  is  an  exact  interpretation  of  a  closed  revelation  and 
is  therefore  a  perfect  reflection  of  this;  it  is,  accord- 
ingly, authoritative  and  final.  Others  believe  that,  since 
theology  is  a  human  product  and  shares  the  general 
movement  of  intelligence,  it  is  never  at  any  stage  final 
but  subject  to  improvement,  which  it  must  indeed  expe- 
rience if  it  is  to  retain  the  approval  of  men  versed  in 
literature,  science,  and  philosophy. 


IV 

The  causes  of  indifference  to  the  Church  and  obsta- 
cles to  increased  church  membership  are,  however,  more 
extensive  and  aggravated  than  the  foregoing  considera- 
tions indicate.  The  replies  make  it  clear  that  involved 
in  this  condition  are  the  basis  and   function  of  the 

[491] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Church,  the  character  and  purpose  of  creeds  and  the 
theology  by  which  they  are  supported,  the  nature  and 
aim  of  Christianity,  the  minister's  relation  to  the 
Church,  and  the  existence  and  efficiency  of  other  agen- 
cies for  social  betterment  aside  from  the  Church. 

1.  The  Chuech 

The  papers  reveal  an  irreconcilable  disagreement  as 
to  what  the  Church  stands  for.  (1)  Concerning  its 
basis,  one  affirms  that  it  is  work,  another  that  it  is 
neither  faith  nor  works.  Others  hold  that  the  Church 
is  bound  to  Christ  and  not  to  any  theory  of  his  person 
but  must  maintain  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  Still 
others  regard  the  Church  as  founded  on  the  Father- 
hood of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man.  It  is  further 
suggested  that  the  Church  is  not  composed  of  the  re- 
generate but  is  itself  regenerating,  with  open  door  to 
all  of  humble  intent  and  right  spirit.  Finally,  it  is 
thought  of  as  a  clearing-house  for  social  activities,  and 
only  incidentally  as  an  inspiring  center  of  personal 
ideals.  (2)  Its  aim  is  also  variously  conceived.  Its 
real  function  is  the  study,  interpretation,  and  presenta- 
tion of  the  religious  instincts  of  the  himian  race  as  such, 
making  these  effective  in  the  individual,  community, 
and  nation;  more  specifically  to  make  religion  morally, 
spiritually,  and  intellectually  persuasive.  Or  its  busi- 
ness is  to  express  fellowship,  ethical  activity,  social 
relationships,  raising  men  to  a  consciousness  of  the  su- 
pramundane.  Or  again  it  should  return  from  its  theo- 
logical and  other  wanderings  to  the  values  of  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount.  Once  more,  as  a  Christian  Church 
it  should  stand  for  the  historic  creeds  and  should  be 
leader  in  Christian  teaching  and  activity.      (3)    The 

[  492  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

causes  of  its  failure  are  many.  In  general,  it  has  not 
held  fast  to  its  essential  ideal  function.  It  has,  e.g., 
too  often  done  everything  else  but  be  a  church.  The 
Church  of  England  with  its  prescribed  service  has  had 
its  peculiar  handicap.  The  apparent  failure  has,  how- 
ever, to  be  qualified  by  two  considerations:  first,  the 
Church,  whatever  its  form  of  belief,  or  organization, 
will  never  embrace  and  satisfy  all;  secondly,  the 
Church  is  not  the  sole  agent  nor  is  it  responsible  for  all 
the  redemption  of  society.  Yet  specifically,  the  churches 
have  sacrificed  too  much  the  principle  of  authority  and 
leadership ;  they  are  holding  men  to  something  else  than 
religion ;  they  give  the  impression  of  unreality ;  they  are 
out  of  touch  with  real  life,  neither  addressing  them- 
selves to  nor  satisfying  inner  cravings ;  they  are  marred 
by  jealousies,  contentions,  uncharitable  competition, 
whereas  they  ought  to  come  into  court  with  clean 
hands ;  they  fail  to  minister  to  social  needs ;  they  do  not 
tolerate  conclusions  reached  by  devout  and  thorough 
scholarship;  they  are  identified  with  dogmatic  theology 
for  which  men  have  no  longer  any  use. 

2.  Cbeeds  and  Theology  by  Which  These  Are 

Supported 

(1)  Three  positions  are  represented  concerning  the 
significance  of  creeds.  First,  as  embodying  the  content 
of  revelation,  they  are  authoritative  for  faith.  Sec- 
ondly, as  interpretation  of  experience,  they  are  suscep- 
tible of  change  to  meet  the  advancing  requirements  of 
the  Christian  life.  Thirdly,  as  a  body  of  belief  by 
which  the  Church  is  related  to  its  historic  background, 
it  has  more  or  less  reference  to  particular  positions 
maintained  by  its  predecessors,  yet  it  is  not  necessary 

[  493  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

as  a  universal  condition  or  basis  for  church  member- 
ship,— this  is  rather  a  covenant.  Such  a  creed  may, 
however,  be  desirable  as  stating  the  doctrinal  belief  of 
office-holders  in  the  Church,  but  even  this,  where 
churches  use  it  as  a  requisite  for  standing,  whether  of 
members  or  of  officers,  must  undergo  change  with  the 
change  of  theology  in  the  Church. 

(2)  Concerning  the  constitution  and  validity  of 
creeds  as  conditioned  on  their  origination  and  content. 
While  some  replies  allege  that  creeds  are  final,  al- 
though science  and  philosophy  are  continually  subject 
to  modification,  others  affirm  that  creeds  are  not  ab- 
solved from  the  same  necessity  of  change  which  rules 
in  all  other  fields  of  human  interest.  The  latter  posi- 
tion is  strengthened  by  reference  to  the  circumstances 
in  which  the  historic  creeds  arose,  (a)  Much  of  the 
exegesis  by  which  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures  was 
arrived  at  no  longer  commands  the  allegiance  of  bibli- 
cal scholars.  This  has  reference  not  only  to  such  in- 
terpreters as  Origen,  Athanasius,  Augustine,  the 
Protestant  reformers  and  the  Westminster  divines,  but 
even  to  the  New  Testament  use  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophecies  and  the  Psalms.  The  science  of  hermeneu- 
tics  is  a  strictly  modern  achievement,  and  although  the 
art  of  interpretation  suffers  now  more  or  less  from  sub- 
jective bias,  it  is  on  the  whole  far  more  reliable  than  it 
has  ever  been  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  (b)  The 
psychology  in  accordance  with  which  the  personal  prop- 
erties and  actions  of  God  and  Christ  were  explained 
has  had  to  be  corrected  in  the  light  of  modern  psycho- 
logical discoveries,  (c)  The  view  of  the  world  which 
provided  a  setting  for  the  working  out  of  the  divine 
purpose  and  for  human  action,  hopes,  and  ideals,  has 

[494] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

given  place  to  a  scientific  conception  of  nature,  where 
continuity  and  uniformity  leave  no  room  for  contin- 
gency, or  for  arbitrary  disappearance  of  the  present 
scheme  of  things.  Here,  e.g.,  one  has  to  compare  what 
was  the  world  view  and  what  the  exact  meaning  of 
those  who  confessed  of  Christ  that  "he  ascended  into 
heaven"  and  "shall  come  again"  with  the  very  diflfer- 
ent  meaning  which  the  modern  man  assigns  to  such 
words,  if  indeed  he  is  able  to  express  his  faith  by  the 
use  of  such  words.  One  may  also  say  the  same  with 
reference  to  "the  resurrection  of  the  body."  Unless  it 
could  be  shown  that  these  tenets  in  their  precise  histor- 
ical sense  are  essential  to  Christianity  and  the  Church, 
it  would  be  a  grievous  mistake  to  require  subscription 
to  them.  For  first,  very  many  would  withhold  assent 
and  remain  away,  and  many  others,  even  if  they  appear, 
to  assent,  would  do  so  with  silent  protest  and  reserva- 
tion, and  still  others,  although  they  would  yield  an 
implicit  assent  in  early  life,  would  with  maturing  intel- 
ligence feel  that  they  had  been  misguided  and  so 
repudiate  the  untenable  position. 

(d)  So  far  as  the  historic  creeds  presuppose  meta- 
physics derived  from  Aristotle  or  Plato  or  neo-Platon- 
ism,  or  from  modifications  of  these  as  in  medieval 
thought,  or  are  repugnant  to  the  idealism  or  realism  or 
pragmatism  of  to-day,  the  creeds  as  to  their  Christian 
content  are  by  so  much  invalidated  and  cannot  be  pro- 
posed for  subscription.  Examples  of  the  contribution 
of  metaphysics  to  Christian  belief  where  its  presence  is 
not  always  suspected  or  its  rejection  is  stamped  as  un- 
warranted skepticism,  are  doctrines  based  on  ovaUi 
("substance")  and  its  compounds,  on  ^uo-t?  ('^nature"), 
and  imoaratn^  (* 'hypostasis")  in  Greek   and   in  Latin 

[495] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

on  essence,  substance  and  its  compounds,  and  on  per- 
son. 

(e)  The  history  of  the  origin  of  creeds  makes  it  evi- 
dent that  they  lack  the  ecumenical  character  which 
they  would  require  to  command  universal  and  un- 
equivocal assent,  even  of  the  men  of  their  own  period. 
The  fact  is  that  every  creed  has  been  the  expression  of 
only  a  part  of  the  Church,  and  in  every  case  it  is  more 
or  less  a  fruit  of  compromise.  Even  if  it  were  con- 
ceivable that  a  creed  of  the  fourth  century  was  binding 
on  all  the  Christians  of  that  period,  this  would  not  be 
equivalent  to  saying  that  it  is  similarly  binding  on  all 
believers  throughout  all  time. 

(f )  The  essential  nature  of  creeds  and  the  theology 
which  underlies  them  reveals  them  not  as  final  but  as 
transitional,  at  any  given  time  partially  expressing  the 
content  of  faith,  temporarily  fixing  its  expression  in 
the  thought-categories  of  that  time  whether  literary, 
scientific,  or  philosophical,  yet  constantly  subject  to  the 
same  law  of  evolution  by  which  the  development  of  in- 
telligence in  other  spheres  is  determined.  Moreover,  so 
far  as  they  depend  for  their  content  on  science  and 
metaphysics,  they  necessarily  change  as  these  change. 

(g)  Since  creeds  arise  out  of  and  are  interpreta- 
tions of  experience  and  not  merely  of  objective  revela- 
tion, experience  is  the  fundamental  thing,  and  it  is  this 
which  the  Church  must  require  and  must  require  this 
first.  This  brings  us  to  a  covenant  instead  of  to  a 
creed,  i.e.,  a  purpose  as  the  condition  and  basis  of 
church  membership;  the  tie  which  binds  is  a  common 
aim. 

(3)  Two  further  difficulties  emerge  where  creeds 
are  employed  as  doorways  through  which  believers  have 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

to  pass  into  membership  in  the  Church,  (a)  So  far  as 
these  contain  doctrines,  e.g.,  certain  clauses  of  the 
Apostles'  Creed  which  are  incompatible  with  conclu- 
sions reached  by  science  in  the  same  field,  the  Church 
cannot  shut  its  dogmatic  ears  and  go  on  in  sublime  in- 
difference to  the  voice  of  science.  This  might  be  pos- 
sible in  an  age  of  enthusiasm  or  of  persecution,  but  not 
when  intelligence  in  one  sphere  is  dependent  on  knowl- 
edge in  other  departments.  Some  of  the  replies 
claimed  that  theology  was  self-sufficient  because  based 
on  revelation  alone,  but  other  replies  made  it  evident 
that  such  a  claim  is  one  of  the  chief  dangers  of  the- 
ology, and  that  theology  is  safe  only  when  it  is  in  sym- 
pathetic relation  with  all  other  knowledge.  Science 
cannot  be  excluded  from  any  domain.  If  evolution  is 
accepted,  this  will  affect  the  history  of  revelation,  the 
idea  of  God,  the  theory  of  creation,  the  notion  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  nature  and  progress  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Biology,  psychology,  social  science  in  its  many 
aspects  will  enrich  theology  all  along  the  line.  At- 
tempts to  keep  theology  from  science  or  science  from 
theology  have  been  and  will  continue  to  be  made,  and 
they  may  be  partially  successful,  but  they  are  doomed 
to  ultimate  defeat.  To  assume  that  because  theology 
is  derived  from  revelation  it  is  therefore  self -complete, 
infallible,  and  authoritative,  and  that  since  science  has 
to  work  with  existing  and  changing  facts,  with 
hypotheses  and  theories  it  is  therefore  inconclusive, 
tentative,  and  unworthy  of  confidence,  is  to  mistake  the 
meaning  and  function  of  both  science  and  theology. 
The  history  of  creeds  shows  quite  as  clearly  as  the  his- 
tory of  science  that  these  are  subject  to  reconsideration 
and  restatement  which,  if  sometimes  tardy  and  perhaps 

[497] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

grudgingly  performed,  do  nevertheless  take  place,  and 
that  they  quite  as  truly  as  scientific  theories  reflect  ad- 
vancing experience.  If  to-day  the  Church  refuses  or 
begrudges  the  revision  of  its  creeds  so  that  they  may 
express  the  new  thought  and  experience  which  science 
and  philosophy  as  well  as  religion  have  made  possible, 
she  must  blame  none  but  herself  if  cultivated  and 
thoughtful  men  do  not  seek  membership  in  her. 

(b)  The  Church  may  admit  to  membership  without 
a  formal  creed,  but  if  the  Church  stands  for  obnoxious 
doctrines,  and  if  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  the 
Church  is  a  promulgation  and  defense  of  these  obnox- 
ious tenets,  one  difficulty  is  simply  exchanged  for  an- 
other, and  the  perplexity,  instead  of  being  relieved,  is 
only  aggravated.  If  one  cannot  assent  to  certain  theo- 
ries of  the  origin  of  the  Scriptures,  to  divine  sover- 
eignty and  election,  to  the  satisfaction  theory  of  the 
atonement,  and  other  objectionable  positions,  and  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  Church  without  subscription  to  these,  yet 
once  admitted  is  compelled  to  listen  to  them  from  the 
pulpit  and  to  have  them  taught  to  his  children  in  the 
Sunday-school,  he  has  indeed  escaped  one  evil  for  a  mo- 
ment only  to  fall  into  the  hand  of  an  even  greater  evil 
which  will  harass  him  during  his  entire  connection  with 
the  Church.  This  condition  undoubtedly  acts  as  a  de- 
terrent to  many  who  would  otherwise  seek  membership 
in  particular  churches. 

3.  Concerning  Christianity 

(1)  We  have  encountered  a  tendency  to  identify 
Christianity  with  either  truth  or  purpose.  As  truth,  it 
is  a  doctrinal  content,  to  be  stated  and  defended,  incor- 
porating Greek  philosophy,  Latin  discipline,  and  Prot- 

[498] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

estant  dogma,  with  emphasis  placed  on  opinion  which 
separates,  and  which  itself  constantly  changes.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view,  to  learn  to  think  rightly  is  man's  first 
task.  As  purpose,  Christianity  is  love  and  service  to 
God  and  man,  according  to  the  type  disclosed  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Its  appeal  is,  therefore,  to  the  will  and  it  sum- 
mons men  to  loyalty  and  social  service.  Theology  and 
creeds,  instead  of  creating  experience,  grow  out  of  it. 
There  will  always  be  those  who  give  first  place  to  Chris- 
tianity as  doctrine  and  are  accordingly  repelled  by 
churches  which  devote  themselves  to  social  service,  and 
there  is  perhaps  an  equally  large  number  who  define 
Christianity  by  social  service  and  hence  have  no  use  for 
churches  which  exalt  dogma  to  a  commanding  position. 
In  the  case  of  others  Christianity  is  supposed  to  be  in- 
carnated in  the  Church,  and  since  there  is  this  diversity 
of  conviction  as  to  the  essential  note  of  Christianity, 
naturally  this  confusion  is  carried  over  to  the  Church 
itself,  and  men,  whether  before  or  after  uniting  with  the 
Church,  do  not  know  what  is  expected  of  them  or  what 
they  ought  to  do. 

(2)  Christianity  and  hence  the  Church  is  just  now 
suffering  acutely  from  three  conditions  which  appear 
destined  to  greater  increase.  As  one  of  the  contributors 
to  this  questionnaire  has  elsewhere  indicated,*  there  is 

(a)  a  wish  to  preserve  unchanged  both  the  traditional 
dogmas  and  the  traditional  methods  of  defending  these; 

(b)  among  scholars  a  tendency  toward  intellectualism 
which  is  more  or  less  careless  concerning  the  ethical  and 
spiritual  bearings  of  the  truth  with  which  it  has  to  do; 

(c)  an    intense    secular    spirit    which    is    spreading 

♦Cf.  Gerald  B.  Smith,  Social  Theology  and  the  Changing  Order,  New 
York,  1913. 

[  499  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

through  every  field  of  modern  activity,  which  contents 
itself  with  an  immanent  idealism  detached  from  Chris- 
tianity. These  tendencies  arising  from  opposite  quar- 
ters and  with  totally  opposite  motives  and  ideals  must 
somehow  be  transformed — the  first  to  harmonize  with 
the  modern  spirit,  the  others  to  find  in  Christianity  their 
permanent  and  most  powerful  inspiration  and  ally — 
if  their  present  influence  upon  indifference  of  men  to 
the  Church  is  to  cease  and  that  which  is  essential  in 
them  is  to  become  a  help  rather  than  a  hindrance.  In 
other  words,  Christianity  must  recover  the  place  in  the 
interest  and  ideals  of  men  which  it  once  possessed,  if  the 
Church  is  to  regain  the  influence  which  it  appears  to  be 
losing. 

4.  Concerning  the  Minister 

Many  of  the  replies  intimated  that  the  minister 
plays  an  important  role  in  relation  to  the  Church,  as 
interesting  men  in  that  for  which  the  Church  stands. 
(1)  As  to  his  personal  bearing  two  significant  sug- 
gestions were  ojOfered.  First,  he  must  not  be  "too  much 
of  a  minister,"  stuck  on  his  office,  exaggerating  both 
the  sanctity  of  the  pulpit  and  its  place  in  modern  so- 
cial activities,  isolating  himself  from  his  lay  brethren, 
especially  from  scientific  experts  who  are  his  peers  or 
his  superiors,  professing  to  speak  with  authority  on  all 
sorts  of  literary,  scientific,  and  philosophical  subjects 
as  if  his  judgment  was  exact  and  final — a  course  which 
can  only  disgust  and  alienate  many  who  would  other- 
wise be  drawn  to  the  Church.  Secondly,  he  must  not  be 
"something  else  than  a  minister" — "a  first-class  after- 
dinner  speaker,  ...  a  jolly  smoker,  a  baseball  fan, 
a  dog  fancier,  a  connoisseur  of  horses  or  of  automobiles 

[500] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

.  .  .  devotee  of  athletics,  an  amateur  farmer,  a  scout 
master,  a  Cook's  tourist  guide,"  etc., — conduct  which 
fails  to  attract  to  the  Church  the  very  men  whom  he 
most  desires  to  see,  that  he  may  give  to  them  his  divine 
message. 

(2)  Concerning  his  message.  His  first  business  is 
to  teach  religion  from  the  point  of  view  of  its  princi- 
ples and  ideals  as  seen  in  Christianity,  and  not  to  con- 
tent himself  with  the  merely  "practical."  This  must  be 
done  in  the  modern  spirit;  for  example,  no  patchwork 
of  ancient  views  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  purely  tra- 
ditional doctrine  of  the  person  of  Christ,  with  scraps  of 
recent  psychology  and  science  half  understood  and  so 
misapplied,  under  the  impression  that  his  teaching  is 
thus  up  to  date  and  is  fitted  to  the  modern  man.  The 
minister  must  make  the  personal  and  social  teachings  of 
Jesus  the  principles  of  his  own  teaching  and  thus  really 
address  the  modern  consciousness.  If,  however,  there 
are  clergymen  who  are  traditionalists  in  theology  to 
whom  such  a  course  is  repugnant,  and  churchep  to 
which  they  minister  which  will  not  tolerate  this,  then 
with  conviction  must  they  present  the  truth  as  they  see 
it,  assured  that  the  strength  and  enthusiasm  of  their 
conviction  and  the  utter  sincerity  of  their  purpose  will 
go  far  to  overcome  the  indifference  of  many  to  the 
Church  and  its  claims.  Besides,  there  will  always  be 
those  who  sympathize  with  such  teachings. 

(3)  As  to  leadership.  Only  a  single  note  was 
struck  on  this  subject.  The  minister  must  sacrifice  all 
else  for  the  sake  of  spiritual  leadership.  He  is  called 
to  be  the  head  of  a  great  business  and  he  must  "make 
his  calling  and  election  sure." 

[  501  ] 


.THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

5.  Concerning  the  New   Social   Service 

The  large  number  of  social  agencies  of  recent  origin 
working  for  human  betterment  are  destined  to  very 
considerable  expansion.  (1)  Many  special  agencies, 
wholly  Christian  in  spirit  and  aim,  are  upon  founda- 
tions either  independent  of  the  Church  or  else  are  only 
affiliated  with  it.  A  generation  or  so  ago  many  of  their 
supporters  and  workers  would  have  found  their  sphere 
of  service  in  the  Church,  even  though  the  extent  of  such 
service  would  have  been  rather  restricted.  The  Church 
must  now  unquestionably  reconcile  itself  to  this  condi- 
tion. (2)  The  State  is  rapidly  enlarging  the  scope  of 
its  responsibility  along  ideal  social  lines,  laying  upon 
itself  many  burdens  which  quite  as  truly  belong  to  the 
Church.  One  has  to  acknowledge  that  it  is  more  efficient 
in  these  than  was  ever  possible  to  the  Church.  Mean- 
time, the  tabulated  forces  of  the  Church  suffer.  (3) 
The  Church,  without  being  fully  conscious  of  the  fact, 
has  a  share  in  the  universal  readjustment  by  which  life 
is  fitted  to  modern  conditions.  This  has  given  rise  to 
two  extreme  types  of  ideal  as  to  the  functions  of  the 
Church,  one,  that  of  a  purely  religious  and  spiritual  in- 
terest and  activity,  the  other,  that  of  the  Church  as  a 
social  center  where,  however,  personal  religion  is  left 
entirely  to  the  individual.  (4)  Christianity  is  itself  in 
process  of  reinterpretation,  less  than  heretofore  iden- 
tified with  the  Church  as  a  definite  institution,  but  con- 
ceived of  rather  as  a  pervasive  spirit  which  seeks  to 
organize  every  form  of  social  life  with  reference  to  im- 
mediate human  need. 


[502] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 


The  foregoing  survey  invites  to  three  further  sug- 
gestions concerning  the  present  condition  of  the  Church. 

1.  Indifference  to  the  Church  is  not  caused  solely 
by  requiring  subscription  to  a  creed.  It  is  unquestion- 
ably true  that  long,  complicated,  and  controversial 
creeds  repel  many  from  the  Church,  and  it  is  also  true 
that  many  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  churches 
have  creeds  which  contain  much  debatable  material ;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  absence  of  creeds  does  not  of  itself 
draw  great  numbers  to  those  churches  which  dispense 
with  them  as  conditions  of  membership  or  dispense  with 
them  entirely.  In  the  replies,  a  church  described  by 
one  of  its  adherents  as  "small"  requires  no  such  sub- 
scription, but  this  fact  appears  to  have  no  power  to  at- 
tract either  adherents  or  even  attention  to  it.  If  sub- 
scription to  creeds  were  the  sole  or  even  the  principal 
ground  of  indifference,  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
the  time  is  ripe  for  a  complete  surrender  of  this  prac- 
tice in  favor  of  Lincoln's  proposition.  For,  first,  too 
many  are  still  committed  to  the  older  way,  and  sec- 
ondly, one  may  believe  that  the  Christian  Church  would 
suffer  irreparable  loss  in  thus  detaching  itself  from  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  personal  leadership  of  Jesus 
Christ.  If  the  Christian  Church  represents  the  type  of 
life  which  found  its  supreme  instance  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  if  Christ  is  still  central  in  its  faith  and  hope  and 
love,  then  omission  of  all  reference  to  him  in  that  for 
which  the  Church  stands  or  failure  to  set  him  forth  as 
embodiment  of  the  Church's  ideal  and  inspirer  of  the 
Church's  devotion  to  individual  worthiness  and  social 

[503] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

service,  would  of  itself  rob  the  Church  of  its  chief  glory 
and  leave  it  poor  indeed.  Only,  it  must  be  Christ  and 
not  simply  theories  about  him  which  the  Church  finds 
room  for  in  its  confession;  and  it  must  be  the  Jesus  of 
the  gospels  and  not  the  Christ  of  the  creeds  or  of  the 
theologians  who  is  to  occupy  this  central  place. 

Having  this  and  other  interests  in  mind,  the  late 
Professor  Bowne  drew  up  a  platform  and  a  program 
which  he  believed  contained  all  the  vital  facts  and 
values  which  are  essential  to  the  Church.  Although  he 
had  no  contribution  in  this  series  of  papers,  it  may  be 
well  to  present  his  suggestion.  The  platform  reads :  "I 
believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  and  in  Jesus 
Christ,  his  Son,  our  Lord.  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth,  and  in  the  life  everlasting."  The  pro- 
gram runs:  "Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  He  held  that  this  platform 
expressed  the  continuity  of  Christian  thought,  that  it 
was  the  true  faith,  the  true  orthodoxy,  the  gospel  or 
good  news  of  God,  on  which  the  victories  of  Christian- 
ity have  been  won.  The  program  would  be  equally  ac- 
ceptable to  men  in  the  Church  or  out  of  it,  the  only 
question  being  whether  they  were  lovers  of  their  kind. 
"A  church  with  no  other  theology  or  program,  if  it 
were  vitally  interested  in  this,  would  not  fail  to  give  a 
good  account  of  itself  as  a  church  of  Christ."  *  This 
summary  of  Professor  Bowne  is  significant  not  because 
it  is  beyond  criticism  nor  because  it  has  been  adopted  by 
many  churches,  but  because  it  reveals  the  fine  temper 
of  catholic  scholarship  and  points  the  way  we  are  going. 

2.  For  the  first  time  in  its  history  the  Church  is 

*  The  Christian  Advocate,  June  26,  1913,  p.  881. 
[504] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

confronted  by  the  fact  that  other  agencies  which  are 
independent  of  it  or  but  loosely  connected  with  it,  are 
entering  upon  moral  and  social  tasks  in  which  the 
Church  might  very  well  engage,  but  which,  by  reason 
of  the  non-sectarian  and  cooperative  character  of  these 
tasks,  no  single  church  is  in  position  to  do  as  well,  or 
even  to  undertake  at  all.  For  the  first  time  also  the 
Church  is  aware  of  a  strange  reversal  in  its  position, — 
from  being  by  common  consent  the  exclusive  agency 
for  human  betterment,  it  finds  itself  only  one  among 
many  agencies,  some  of  which  are  already  outstripping 
it  in  usefulness ;  in  very  many  communities  it  has  to  as- 
sume an  apologetic  attitude  respecting  not  only  its  sup- 
port but  even  its  very  existence.  It  would  be  worse 
than  foolish  to  ignore  this  new  condition  of  the  Church 
as  creating  a  problem  of  grave  difficulty.  Whether 
the  Church  knows  it  or  not,  the  Church  is  on  trial  in 
the  modern  world  as  really  as  it  ever  was  in  the  ancient 
regime.  Not  until  it  rediscovers  in  the  new  social  en- 
vironment and  consciously  defines  and  dedicates  itself 
to  its  task  will  it  compel  the  allegiance  both  of  its  own 
members  and  of  the  community  in  which  it  is  placed. 
Its  task  may  be  different  or  simpler  in  one  community 
than  in  another — here  religious,  there  educational,  else- 
where social,  or  all  of  these  in  various  combinations  and 
degrees.  Its  only  justification  for  its  existence  even  lies 
in  the  word  of  Jesus,  "I  am  among  you  as  he  that 
serveth."  All  over  our  land  are  deserted  church  build- 
ings which  tell  their  own  tragic  tale;  because  they 
ceased  to  serve,  they  ceased  to  live.  And  not  long  will 
a  community  care  for  a  church  which  cares  little  or 
nothing  for  it.  Here,  without  doubt,  lies  a  secret  and 
powerful  cause  of  indifference  to  the  Church;  that  this  is 

[505  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

recognized  as  such,  is  a  tribute  to  the  honest  judgment 
of  men.  "We  love  him  because  he  first  loved  us"  is  no 
less  true  with  reference  to  the  Church  than  to  God. 
With  a  creed  or  without  it — ^be  it  the  Thirty-nine  Arti- 
cles of  the  Church  of  England,  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession, or  Lincoln's  platform — the  church  which  serves 
the  community  and  the  world  will  never  lack  for  sup- 
porters. Never  will  the  Church  resume  its  place  of 
leadership  and  supremacy  in  social  redemptive  action 
until  more  than  any  other  agency  it  serves  the  highest 
and  most  permanent  needs  of  men. 

3.  The  only  position  concerning  the  relation  of  the 
Church's  theology  to  literary,  scientific,  and  philosoph- 
ical certainties  of  our  time  which  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
ject demands  and  experience  warrants  is  that  theology 
is  safe  only  when  it  is  in  harmony  with  all  the  values 
of  human  life,  whatever  their  source.  Reasons  for  the 
isolation  of  theology  by  the  Church  are  various.  In  or- 
der to  guard  it  from  the  intrusion  of  science,  the 
Scholastics  had  their  "Two  Ways."  Protestants  have 
defended  a  similar  position:  since  theology  is  based  on 
revelation  alone,  it  has  no  dependence  on  human  knowl- 
edge. Not  to  dwell  on  the  mistaken  view  of  revela- 
tion which  is  here  presupposed,  the  human  mind  re- 
fuses to  be  partitioned  off  in  this  way,  with  impassable 
barriers  across  which  thought  must  not  venture.  More 
than  from  any  other  cause  theology  has  suffered  from 
the  arrogance  of  its  advocates  who,  having  staked  off 
their  inviolable  boundaries,  have  warned  all  profane 
scientists  and  philosophers  to  keep  their  distance.  Some 
of  the  chief  battles  of  theology  have  been  in  defense  of 
its  sacrosanct  claims,  but  in  the  end  the  theologians 
have  been  worsted,  driven  in,  forced  to  reduce  their 

[506] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

pretensions,  or  to  surrender  without  capitulation.  One 
would  suppose  that  theology,  taught  by  sad  experience, 
might  at  length  learn  at  least  to  make  her  peace  with 
all  other  knowledge,  if  not  to  go  out  in  search  of  such 
knowledge,  and,  wherever  found,  welcome  it.  A  new 
day  has,  however,  dawned,  with  religion  conceived  of  as 
a  universal  human  experience,  with  revelation  regarded 
as  coextensive  with  the  consciousness  of  values,  with 
theology  emphasizing  a  special  aspect  of  reality  which 
at  the  same  time  involves  all  our  knowledge  of  reality. 
We  cannot  say  that  theology  is  "unvulnerable" ;  it  is  no 
more  and  no  less  invulnerable  than  any  other  product 
of  intelligence.  Neither  theology  nor  any  other  branch 
of  research  and  knowledge  is  "unassailable  when  it 
keeps  to  its  own  dominion;"  the  history  of  theology  on 
the  one  hand,  and  of  science  and  philosophy  on  the 
other,  shows  that  these  have  all  suffered  attack  and 
have  not  infrequently  surrendered  to  the  stronger  force. 
Nor  is  theology  infallible  in  its  own  sphere  any  more 
than  science  and  philosophy  are  in  theirs.  The  state- 
ment that  "science  is  learning;  theology  has  learned"  i3 
true  only  of  a  dead  theology,  and  is  refuted  by  the 
whole  history  of  dogma.  It  also  cannot  be  maintained 
that  science  has  not  "anything  to  say  of  authority  rela- 
tive to  the  matters  with  which  theology  deals."  One 
writer  remarked  that  he  could  not  conceive  of  a  the- 
ology which  would  not  accord  with  the  assured  results 
of  science;  but  the  long  and  so  far  unfinished  warfare 
of  science  and  theology  demonstrates  that  this  antagon- 
ism has  actually  existed  and  still  exists  unreconciled 
to-day.  Theology  may  be  defined  as  the  science  of  God 
or  the  science  of  faith,  but  in  either  case  alike  it  dis- 
cusses the  same  subjects  and  is  enriched  by  the  entire 

C  507  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

wealth  of  human  intellectual  achievement.  A  funda- 
mental theology  of  our  time  must  have  a  well-beaten 
path  between  it  and  literary  and  scientific  and  phil- 
osophical certainties ;  it  must  draw  its  material  from  all 
sources — ^the  Scriptures,  history,  experience,  psychol- 
ogy, ethics,  metaphysics,  scientific  conclusions,  indeed 
wherever  any  values  appear;  and  it  must  be  influenced 
by  these  and  change  as  these  change.  At  least  one 
cause  of  the  present  indifference  to  the  Church  will  be 
removed  when  the  Church  acknowledges  that  its  the- 
ology is  simply  the  human  interpretation  of  God  and 
his  purpose  for  the  world,  an  interpretation  always  fal- 
lible, incomplete,  progressing,  which  aims  to  be  at  one 
with  all  intelligence  in  other  spheres  of  certainty.  "We 
have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels." 


[508] 


THE  HISTORIC  CREEDS 


[509] 


THE  "ECUMENICAL"  CREEDS 


THE    APOSTLES'    CREED* 

The  Apostles'  Creed  is  first  found  in  exactly  its  present 
form  in  the  writings  of  a  missionary  in  Southern  Germany, 
named  Pirmin  or  Pirminius,  who  died  in  753  A.  D.,  though  it 
ocicurs  in  nearly  its  present  form  in  the  writings  of  Caesarius  of 
Aries,  who  died  in  542.  It  owes  its  name  to  the  legend  that 
it  was  composed  by  the  apostles  at  Pentecost,  each  of  the 
twelve  contributing  a  part.  While  it  did  not  attain  its  final 
shape  till  so  late,  forms  of  statement  nearly  identical  are  found 
in  use  in  various  Christian  centers  as  far  back  as  the  second 
century,  the  exact  wording  and  also  the  contents  differing 
slightly  in  different  places.  Of  this  sort  is  the  symbol  used  at 
Rome  in  the  fourth  century,  given  on  p.  512. 

I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth: 

And  in  Jesus  Christ  his  only  Son  our  Lord:  Who  was 
conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  Bom  of  the  Virgin  Mary :  Suf- 
fered under  Pontius  PHate,  Was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried: 
He  descended  into  hell ;  The  third  day  he  rose  again  from  the 
dead:  He  ascended  into  heaven.  And  sitteth  on  the  right  hand 
of  God  the  Father  Almighty:  From  thence  he  shall  come  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 

I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost:  The  holy  Catholic  Church; 
Th5  Communion  of  Saints :  The  Forgiveness  of  sins :  The  Resur- 
rection of  the  body:  And  the  Life  everlasting.     Amen. 

*  Text  taken  from  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  .  .  .  <iccording  to  the 
Use  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

[511] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 


ROMAN  (FOURTH  CENTURY)  FORM  OF  THE  APOS- 
TLES' CREED  ♦ 

I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty.  And  in  Jesus  His 
only  begotten  Son  our  Lord,  Who  was  bom  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  the  Virgin  Mary,  Who  was  crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate 
and  was  buried,  on  the  third  day  He  rose  from  the  dead,  pro- 
ceeded to  heaven  and  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 
from  thence  He  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 
And  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Holy  Church,  forgiveness  of  sins, 
resurrection  of  the  flesh. 

HI 
NICENE-CONSTANTINOPOLITAN    CREED  f 

The  name  expresses  the  tradition,  current  until  compara- 
tively recent  times,  that  this  formula  is  the  creed  adopted  at 
the  first  council  of  Nicaea  (325  A.  D.)  somewhat  enlarged  and 
adopted  at  the  council  of  Constantinople  (381  A.  D.).  Inves- 
tigation has  shown,  however,  that  this  account  of  the  origin  is 
not  altogether  historical.  This  creed  is,  in  fact,  a  revision 
of  a  formula  used  in  Jerusalem,  and  revised,  either  by  Cyril 
(bishop  of  Jerusalem,  351-386)  or  under  his  direction,  by  add- 
ing the  most  important  Nicene  formulas  and  definitions  relating 
to  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Nicene  Creed,  which  dominates  the 
formula  given  below,  was  occasioned  by  the  "heresy"  of  Arias, 
and  emphasized  the  oneness  of  substance  {hoTnooiisia)  of  the 
Son  with  the  Father  championed  by  Athanasius  as  against  the 
likeness  of  substance  {homoiousia)  espoused  by  Arius.  This 
creed  therefore  stressed  the  equality  of  the  Son  with  the  Father, 

•From  The  Apostleg'  Creed  and  Th«  New  Testament,  by  Johannes 
Kunze,  Ph.D.,  Th,D.,  Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company,  New  York  and  London, 

t  Text  taken  from  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  .  .  .  according  to  the 
Us9  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 

[512] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

and  condemned  the  Arian  belief  that  Christ  is  a  creature  and 
therefore  God  only  in  a  secondary  or  metaphorical  sense. 

I  believe  in  one  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,  And  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible: 

And  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only-begotten  Son  of 
God;  Begotten  of  his  Father  before  all  worlds,  God  of  God, 
Light  of  Light,  Very  God  of  very  God;  Begotten,  not  made; 
Being  of  one  substance  with  the  Father;  By  whom  all  things 
were  made:  Who  for  us  men  and  for  our  salvation  came  down 
from  heaven,  And  was  incarnate  by  the  Holy  Ghost  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  And  was  made  man :  And  was  crucified  also  for 
us  under  Pontius  Pilate;  He  suffered  and  was  buried:  And  the 
third  day  he  rose  again  according  to  the  Scriptures:  And 
ascended  into  heaven,  And  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father:  And  he  shall  come  again,  with  glory,  to  judge  both  the 
quick  and  the  dead ;  VV^hose  kingdom  shall  have  no  end. 

And  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  The  Lord  and  Giver  of 
Life,  Who  proceedeth  from  the  Father  [and  the  Son]  * ;  Who 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son  together  is  worshipped  and  glori- 
fied ;  Who  spake  by  the  Prophets :  And  I  believe  one  Catholic 
and  Apostolic  Church:  I  acknowledge  one  Baptism  for  the 
remission  of  sins :  And  I  look  for  the  Resurrection  of  the  dead : 
And  the  Life  of  the  world  to  come.    Amen. 


IV 

THE   SYMBOL   OF   CHALCEDON,   461    A.  D.f 

This  formula  takes  its  name  from  the  council  held  at  Chal- 
cedon  in  451.  After  the  condemnation  of  Arianism  at  Nicaea 
(825)  and  Constantinople  (381),  there  arose  the  "heresies"  of 
Apollinaris,  consisting  in  a  partial  denial  of  the  humanity  of 
Christ;  of  Nestorius,  who  emphasized  the  distinction  between 
the  deity  and  the  humanity  of  Christ,  putting  them  "into 

*  The  words  in  brackets  are  not  found  in  the  creed  in  use  in  the  Eastern 
Church,  and  are  the  principal  cause  of  the  schism  between  that  church 
and  the  Roman. 

t  Text  taken  from  Schaff,  Creeds  of  Christendom,  VoL  II,  pp.  62-63. 

[513] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

loose  mechanical  conjunction  .  .  •  rather  than  into  a  vital 
and  personal  union" ;  and  of  Eutyches,  who  reversed  the  error 
of  Nestorius  by  alleging  the  absorption  of  the  human  nature 
of  Christ  by  his  divine  nature.  In  this  creed  the  Christology 
of  the  ancient  Church  may  be  said  to  have  received  its  final 
shape,  aiming  to  state  the  Catholic  doctrine  as  against  these 
various  "errors." 

We,  then,  following  the  holy  Fathers,  all  with  one  consent, 
teach  men  to  confess  one  and  the  same  Son,  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  same  perfect  in  Godhead  and  also  perfect  in  man- 
hood; truly  God  and  truly  man,  of  a  reasonable  [rational] 
soul  and  body;  consubstantial  [coessential]  with  the  Father 
according  to  the  Godhead,  and  consubstantial  with  us  accord- 
ing to  the  Manhood;  in  all  things  like  unto  us,  without  sin; 
begotten  before  all  ages  of  the  Father  according  to  the  God- 
head, and  in  these  latter  days,  for  us  and  for  our  salvation, 
bom  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  Mother  of  God,  according  to 
the  Manhood;  one  and  the  same  Christ,  Son,  Lord,  Only-be- 
gotten, to  be  acknowledged  in  two  natures,  mconfusedly^  un- 
changeably,  indivisibly,  inseparably;  the  distinction  of  natures 
being  by  no  means  taken  away  by  the  union,  but  rather  the 
property  of  each  nature  being  preserved,  and  concurring  in 
one  Person  and  one  Subsistence,  not  parted  or  divided  into  two 
persons,  but  one  and  the  same  Son,  and  only  begotten,  God 
the  Word,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  as  the  prophets  from  the 
beginning  [have  declared]  concerning  him,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  himself  has  taught  us,  and  the  Creed  of  the  holy  Fathers 
has  handed  down  to  us. 


V 

THE    ATHANASIAN    CREED    OR    QUICUNQUE 

It  was  not  till  about  the  thirteenth  century  that  the  term 
"creed"  was  applied  to  this  formula.  As  late  as  1287  it  is 
called  "the  psalm  Quicunque."  The  document  is  not  a  state- 
ment of  belief,  but  "a  theological  exposition  of  the  doctrines 

[514] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  the  Trinity  and  the  incarnation."  The  name  of  Athanasius 
is  also  misapplied,  since  it  does  not  seem  to  have  originated 
earlier  than  the  fifth  century,  and  then  in  South  France  and 
written  in  Latin  (Ath«masius  wrote  in  Greek).  During  the 
Middle  Ages  this  creed  obtained  great  authority  in  the  Latin 
Church;  in  the  Greek  Church  it  never  gained  general  currency 
or  formal  ecclesiastical  sanction.  After  the  Reformation  it 
still  retained  much  of  its  prestige,  and  several  of  the  later  con- 
fessions mention  it  with  favor.  The  use  of  this  formula  at 
morning  prayer  at  certain  festivals  is  obligatory  in  the  Church 
of  England,  and  it  therefore  appears  in  the  Anglican  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  from  which  several  unsuccessful  attempts  have 
been  made  to  remove  it.  When  the  revision  of  the  Prayer  Book 
was  made  for  the  (American)  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
this  formula  was  omitted. 

The  translation  which  follows  is  taken  from  The  Gtuirdia/n, 
London,  Nov.  10,  1909,  and  was  made  at  the  request  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  pursuant  to  the  twenty-ninth  reso- 
lution of  the  Lambeth  Conference  of  1908,  by  a  committee  of 
seven,  viz. :  Bishop  Christopher  Wordsworth  of  Salisbury ;  Dean 
Alexander  Francis  Kirkpatrick  of  Ely ;  Vice-chancellor  Arthur 
James  Mcuson  of  Cambridge;  Warden  Walter  Lock  of  Keble 
College,  Oxford ;  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  Henry  Barclay 
Swete,  Cambridge;  Regius  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History 
Edward  William  Watson,  Oxford;  and  Cuthbert  Hamilton 
Turner,  Magdalen  College,  Oxford. 

1.  Whosoever  would  be  saved  (1) :  before  all  things  it  is 
needful  that  he  hold  fast  the  Catholic  Faith. 

2.  Which  Faith  except  a  man  have  kept  whole  and  unde- 
filed  (2):  without  doubt  he  will  perish  eternally. 

3.  Now  the  Catholic  Faith  is  this :  that  we  worship  the  one 
God  as  a  Trinity,  and  the  Trinity  as  an  Unity. 

4.  Neither  confusing  the  Persons:  nor  dividing  the  Sub- 
stance. 

6.  For  there  is  a  Person  of  the  Father,  another  of  the  Son: 
another  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 

[515] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

6.  But  the  Godhead  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  one;  their  glory  equal,  their  majesty  co-eternal. 

7.  Such  as  the  Father  is,  such  is  the  Son :  and  such  is  the 
Holy  Ghost; 

8.  The  Father  uncreated,  the  Son  uncreated:  the  Holy 
Ghost  uncreated; 

9.  The  Father  infinite,  the  Son  infinite:  the  Holy  Ghost 
infinite ; 

10.  The  Father  eternal,  the  Son  eternal:  the  Holy  Ghost 
eternal ; 

11.  And  yet  they  are  not  three  eternals:  but  one  eternal; 

12.  As  also  they  are  not  three  uncreated,  nor  three  infinites : 
but  one  infinite,  and  one  uncreated. 

13.  So  likewise  the  Father  is  almighty,  the  Son  almighty; 
the  Holy  Ghost  almighty; 

14.  And  yet  they  are  not  three  almighties ;  but  one  almighty. 

15.  So  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  God,  the  Holy  Ghost 
God; 

16.  And  yet  they  are  not  three  Gods,  but  one  God. 

17.  So  the  Father  is  Lord,  the  Son  Lord:  the  Holy  Ghost 
Lord; 

18.  And  yet  they  are  not  three  Lords :  but  one  Lord. 

19.  For  like  as  we  are  compelled  by  the  Christian  verity 
(3)  :  to  confess  each  of  the  Persons  by  himself  (4)  to  be  both 
God  and  Lord; 

20.  So  are  we  forbidden  by  the  Catholic  religion:  to  speak 
of  three  Gods  or  three  Lords. 

21.  The  Father  is  of  none:  not  made,  nor  created,  nor  be- 
gotten. 

22.  The  Son  is  of  the  Father  alone :  not  made,  nor  created, 
but  begotten. 

23.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  of  the  Father  and  the  Son:  not 
made,  nor  created,  nor  begotten,  but  proceeding. 

24.  There  is  therefore  one  Father,  not  three  Fathers;  one 
Son,  not  three  Sons :  one  Holy  Ghost,  not  three  Holy  Ghosts. 

25.  And  in  this  Trinity  none  is  before  or  after:  none  is 
greater  or  less; 

[516] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

26.  But  all  three  Persons  are  co-eternal  one  with  another: 
and  co-equal. 

27.  So  that  in  all  ways,  as  is  aforesaid:  both  the  Trinity 
is  to  be  worshipped  as  an  Unity,  and  the  Unity  as  a  Trinity. 

28.  Let  him  therefore  that  would  be  saved  (6) :  think  thus 
of  the  Trinity  (6). 

29.  FURTHERMORE  it  is  necessary  to  eternal  salvation: 
that  he  also  believe  faithfully  the  Incarnation  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

30.  The  right  Faith  therefore  is  that  we  believe  and  confess : 
that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  at  once  both 
God,  and  Man; 

31.  He  is  God  of  the  Substance  of  the  Father,  begotten 
before  the  worlds  (7) :  and  He  is  Man,  of  the  Substance  of 
his  Mother,  bom  in  the  world  (8)  ; 

32.  Perfect  God:  perfect  Man,  of  reasoning  (9)  soul  and 
human  flesh  consisting; 

33.  Equal  to  the  Father  as  touching  his  Godhead:  less 
than  the  Father  as  touching  his  Manhood. 

34.  Who,  altho  he  be  God  and  Man:  yet  he  is  not  two, 
but  is  one  Christ; 

35.  One,  however,  not  by  change  of  Godhead  into  flesh ;  but 
by  taking  of  manhood  into  God; 

36.  One  altogether:  not  by  confusion  (10)  of  substance, 
but  by  unity  of  person. 

37.  For  as  reasoning  (11)  soul  and  flesh  is  one  man:  so 
God  and  man  is  one  Christ; 

38.  Who  suffered  for  our  salvation :  descended  to  the  world 
below  (12),  rose  again  from  the  dead; 

39.  Ascended  into  heaven,  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father:  to  come  from  thence  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead. 

40.  At  whose  coming  all  men  shall  rise  again  (13)  with 
their  bodies ;  and  shall  give  accoimt  for  their  own  deeds. 

41.  And  they  that  have  done  good  will  go  into  life  eternal: 
they  that  have  done  evil,  into  eternal  fire. 

42.  This  is  the  Catholic  Faith:  which  except  a  man  have 
faithfully  and  steadfastly  believed,  he  cannot  be  saved. 

[517] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  figures  m  parentheses  above  refer  to  the  follotving 
alternative  renderings: 

(1)  Or  desireth  to  be  saved. 

(2)  Or  uncorrupted. 

(3)  Or  by  Christian  truth. 

(4)  Or  severally. 

(5)  Or  desire  to  be  saved. 

(6)  Or  concerning  the  Trinity. 

(7)  Or  before  all  time. 

(8)  Or  in  time. 

(9)  Or  rational. 

(10)  Or  One:  not  by  any  confusion. 

(11)  Or  rational. 

(12)  Or  into  Hades. 

(13)  Or  must  rise  again* 


[  518  ] 


ON    POST-REFORMATION    CREEDS    AND 
CONFESSIONS 

The  Reformers  and  their  followers,  repudiating  the  appeal 
to  Bible  and  to  tradition  as  coordinate  rules  of  faith,  main- 
tained the  absolute  sovereignty  of  the  Bible  as  the  only  infal- 
lible rule  of  Christian  faith  and  practise.  Similarly,  they 
rejected  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  and  good  works 
coordinately,  and  asserted  that  justification  was  by  faith  alone, 
good  works  being  evidences  and  results  of  justification.  This 
change  in  position  created  the  need  for  a  restatement  of  the- 
ology, which  took  shape  in  the  confessions  of  the  various  types 
of  Protestantism.  All  of  these,  however,  excepting  only  the 
Unitarian  forms,  were  built  upon  the  theology  and  Christology 
of  the  ecumenical  creeds.  The  principal  types  of  "evangelical" 
confession  thus  evoked  and  created  may  be  regarded  as  four 
in  number :    Lutheran,  Reformed,  Anglican,  and  Arminian. 

THE    LUTHERAN    CONFESSIONS 

The  "symbolical  books"  of  the  Lutheran  Church  are  con- 
tained in  the  Book  of  Concord,  and  embrace  the  Apostles', 
Nicene,  and  Athanasian  creeds,  the  Augsburg  Confession  and 
Apology,  the  Smalkald  Articles,  the  "Small"  and  the  "Large" 
catechisms,  and  the  Formula  of  Concord.  Of  these,  two  are  of 
principal  importance,  viz.:  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  the 
Formula  of  Concord,  the  former  being  generally,  the  latter 
less  widely,  recognized  among  the  many  branches  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church. 

The  Augsburg  Confession  was  prepared  by  Melanchthon  in 
1580  as  a  statement  of  the  evangelical  position  for  presenta- 
tion at  the  diet  of  Augsburg  in  1530.  It  W£is  written  both  in 
German  and  in  Latin,  and  inaccurate  editions  of  both  were 

[519] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

printed  during  the  diet.  Melanchthon  almost  at  once  prepared 
a  corrected  edition,  to  which  he  added  "The  Apology";  these 
were  published  together  in  1531,  and  received  approval  among 
Lutherans  generally. 

The  document  has  two  parts,  aside  from  Preface  and  Epi- 
logue, the  first  of  which  sets  forth  in  twenty-one  articles  the 
Protestant  doctrinal  system.  The  theology  and  Christology 
are  catholic  or  ecumenical;  the  doctrines  of  man,  sin,  and 
grace  are  essentially  Augustinian;  the  doctrines  of  faith,  obe- 
dience, the  Church,  government,  and  mediatorship  are  anti- 
Roman  ;  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  states  the  bodily 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  bread  and  wine  as  against  the  Zwin- 
glian  or  Reformed  belief.  The  second  part,  in  seven  articles,  is 
in  some  sense  a  defense  of  the  first,  and  states  the  abuses  that 
had  been  already  corrected  in  the  (new  Protestant)  Church. 

The  text  with  English  translation  may  be  found  in  Philip 
Schaff's  Creeds  of  Christ eindom,  iii.  7-72,  New  York,  1877. 
The  best  original  text  is  that  published  by  Tschackert,  Leipsic, 
1901.  The  English  is  found  in  the  General  Council's  edition 
of  the  Booh  of  Concord,  edited  by  H.  E.  Jacobs,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Philadelphia,  1911. 

The  Formula  of  Concord,  the  most  elaborate  of  the  Lu- 
theran confessional  works,  was  the  result  of  the  labors  of  six 
eminent  German  theologians  in  1577,  on  the  basis  of  an  earlier 
statement  known  as  the  "Book  of  Torgau."  The  six  were 
Jakob  Andreae  of  Tubingen,  Martin  Chemnitz  of  Brunswick, 
Nikolaus  Selnecker  of  Leipsic,  Andreas  Musculus  and  Christoph 
Comerus  of  Frankfort,  and  David  Chytraeus  of  Rostock.  The 
occasion  for  its  production  was  the  existence  in  the  Lutheran 
Church  of  violent  controversies  which  had  produced  disharmony 
and  danger  of  division.  These  controversies  raged  about  (1) 
original  sin,  whether  it  is  essential  or  accidental;  (2)  synergism 
and  the  freedom  of  the  will;  (3)  justification,  whether  it  is 
forensic  or  an  actual  infusion  of  righteousness ;  (4)  good  works, 
whether  they  are  necessary  for  salvation;  (5)  antinomianism 
and  the  law,  whether  the  law  entirely  is  superseded;  (6)  the 

[520] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

eucharist,  whether  the  body  of  Christ  is  really  or  only  spirit- 
ually present  in  the  Lord's  Supper;  (7)  ubiquity,  whether 
Christ's  body,  as  in  the  sacrament,  is  multipresent  or  omni- 
present; (8)  the  descent  of  Christ  into  hell,  its  time,  manner, 
extent,  and  aim;  (9)  adiaphora,  or  what  rites  and  ceremonies 
are  necessary;  and  (10)  predestination  and  free  will. 

These  controversies  threatened  the  dissolution  of  German 
Protestantism.  Under  the  impulse  and  at  the  expense  of  the 
Elector  August  of  Saxony,  and  with  the  approval  of  other 
princes,  the  six  theologians  named  produced  the  Formula  of 
Concord,  which  was  published  in  1580  and  brought  peace  to 
the  Lutheran  Church,  though  its  acceptance  was  not  general. 
The  document  is  in  two  parts — Epitome  and  Solida  Repetitio 
et  Declaration  each  in  twelve  articles,  the  first  comparatively 
brief,  the  second  quite  extensive.  One  consequence  of  note  is 
that  it  completed  the  separation  of  the  Lutheran  and  the  Re- 
formed branches  of  the  Protestant  Church. 

The  text  of  the  Epitome  is  given  in  Schaff's  Creeds,  iii.  OS- 
ISO,  New  York,  1877 ;  the  full  text  of  both  parts  is  in  H.  E. 
Jacobs,  The  Book  of  Concord,  2  vols.,  Philadelphia,  1893,  and 
in  his  edition  of  the  same,  published  by  the  General  Council, 
Philadelphia,  1911. 

THE    REFORMED    CONFESSIONS 

Of  the  "Reformed  Confessions,"  i.e.,  the  confessions  of 
non-Lutheran  and  non-Episcopalian  churches,  those  of  chief 
importance  from  the  American  and  English  point  of  view  are 
the  Belgic  Confession,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  the  Canons  of 
Dort,  and  the  Westminster  Confession. 

The  Belgic  Confession  was  originally  written,  upon  the 
basis  of  what  is  known  as  the  Gallican  Confession,  in  1561,  in 
French  by  Guy  de  Bres,  a  reformer  in  the  Netherlands,  assisted 
by  Adrian  Saravia,  Herman  Modetus,  and  G.  Wingen  (Saravia 
and  Wingen  were  afterward  professors  of  theology  in  Holland) . 
It  was  revised  by  Francis  Junius  of  Bourges,  who  had  been  a 

[521] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

student  under  Calvin.  This  symbol  was  adopted  by  several  im- 
portant Dutch  synods  from  1566  to  1581,  and  was  finally 
revised  and  adopted  at  the  Synod  of  Dort  in  1619.  It  is 
authoritative  in  the  Reformed  Churches  of  Holland,  Belgium, 
and  in  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  of  the  United  States, 
and  is  regarded  as  being  second  only  to  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession as  a  statement  of  the  Calvinistic  system  of  doctrine. 
It  contains  thirty-seven  articles,  which  elaborate  particularly 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the  incarnation,  the  Church,  and 
the  sacraments.  The  text  is  found  in  SchafPs  Creeds,  iii, 
383-436. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  (1663  A.  D.)  is  the  result  of  the 
composite  labors  of  a  number  of  workers,  of  whom  the  chief 
were  Zacharias  Ursinus  and  Kaspar  Olevianus,  both  of  them 
professors  at  Heidelberg.  The  stimulus  was  furnished  by 
Frederick  III  the  Pious,  elector  of  the  Palatinate,  who  shared 
in  its  composition.  It  was  published  in  1563,  four  editions 
appearing  in  that  year,  the  fourth  becoming  the  standard.  It 
was  adopted  quite  extensively  in  Germany,  then  in  Hungary, 
Transylvania,  and  Poland,  and  finally  by  the  Synod  of  Dort  in 
1619,  whence  it  became  one  of  the  symbols  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  Europe  and  in  America. 

Its  significance  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  sets  forth  in  a  mod- 
erate spirit  the  Calvinistic  system.  It  aims  to  serve  the  double 
purpose  of  religious  instruction  for  youth  and  a  confession  for 
the  Church.  For  the  first  of  these  its  answers  are  too  long  to 
serve  well.  Its  popularity  for  the  second  is  well  attested  in 
Germany  and  in  the  United  States. 

The  text  is  published  by  the  boards  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  in  America,  and  may  be  found  in  Schaff's  Creeds,  iii, 
307-355. 

The  Canons  of  Dort  are  the  reply  of  the  Reformed  Cal- 
vinistic party  in  the  Netherlands  to  the  Remonstrants  or  fol- 
lowers of  Arminius,  who  had  expressed  their  views  on  the  oper- 
ation of  divine  grace  in  "The  Five  Articles  of  Arminianism," 
which  formulate  the  doctrines  of  conditional  predestination, 

[522] 


THE  CHURCH,  THl]  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

universal  atonement,  saving  faith,  resistible  grace,  and  the  non- 
certainty  of  the  perseverence  of  the  saints.  The  Canons  of 
Dort,  prepared  by  a  committee,  and  adopted  by  the  Synod 
April  23,  1619,  reply  to  the  "Five  Articles"  in  five  "Heads  of 
Doctrine"  containing  fifty-nine  articles  and  a  Conclusion. 
They  traverse  the  Arminian  "Articles"  and  give  the  "orthodox 
Calvinistic"  position,  embodying  absolute  predestination,  but 
not  the  supralapsarian  type.  The  result  is  therefore  not  a  com- 
plete "body  of  divinity,"  but  is  confined  to  the  five  points  in 
dispute  between  Calvinists  and  Arminians. 

The  English  text  may  be  found  in  The  Constitution  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America,  published  in  New  York,  ajid  the 
Latin  and  English  are  in  Schaff's  Creeds,  iii,  550-597. 

The  Westminster  Confession,  the  most  important  formula- 
tion for  English-speaking  followers  of  the  Reformed  faith,  is 
the  product  of  an  assembly  of  divines  in  England  "called  to 
legislate  for  Christian  doctrine,  worship,  and  discipline  in  the 
three  kingdoms"  * — during  the  years  1643-49.  The  Westmin- 
ster Assembly  was  the  creation  of  the  "Long  Parliament,"  and 
was  directed  to  "eflFect  a  more  perfect  reformation  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  its  liturgy,  discipline  and  government." 
The  members  chosen  were  all  Calvinists,  though  they  included 
Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Independents,  and  "Erastians." 
The  Assembly  sat  about  five  years  and  a  half,  and  produced  the 
Westminster  Confession  and  the  two  catechisms,  "The  Larger" 
and  **The  Shorter."  "The  Westminster  Confession  sets  forth 
the  Calvinistic  system  in  its  scholastic  maturity  after  it  had 
passed  through  the  sharp  conflict  with  Arminianism  in  Holland, 
and  as  it  had  shaped  itself  in  the  minds  of  Scotch  Presbyterians 
and  English  Puritans  during  their  conflict  with  High-church 
prelacy."  f  In  thirty-three  chapters  of  varying  length  it 
covers  the  doctrines  concerning  the  Bible,  the  Trinity,  Chris- 
tology,  predestination,  anthropology,  soteriology,  the  Church 
and  the  sacraments,  and  the  Sabbath.  With  the  omission  of  two 
chapters  and  parts  of  two  others  it  was  approved  by  Parlia- 

•  SchaflF,  Cr§eds,  i,  728.  t  SchafF,  Creeds,  i.  760. 

[528] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ment  in  1648  and  ordered  printed  in  that  form.  The  shape  in 
which  it  has  almost  uniformly  appeared,  however,  is  that  in 
which  the  Assembly  completed  it,  Parliament's  omissions  be- 
ing disregarded.  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America  carried  through  in  1903  a  revision  of  the  Confes- 
sion, modifying  the  language  in  a  few  sections,  notably  that 
which  dealt  with  "elect  infants,"  and  added  two  chapters,  on 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Love  of  God  and  Missions.  There  was 
also  adopted  a  Declaratory  Statement  modifying  Chapter  III 
"Of  God's  Eternal  Decree."  The  Scotch  churches  have  also 
formulated  declaratory  statements  which  affect  considerably 
the  method  and  matter  of  assent. 

The  Confession  is  issued  in  various  forms,  but  with  the  same 
fundamental  text,  by  the  publishing  houses  of  the  many 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  is  also  in  Schaff's 
Creedsy  iii,  600-673. 

THE  ANGLICAN  AND  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 
ARTICLES 

The  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Anglican  Church  and  the 
American  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  are  founded  imme- 
diately upon  the  Forty-two  Articles  of  Religion  framed  by 
Thomas  Cranmer  and  published  by  "royal  authority"  in  1553 
under  Edward  VI.  Cranmer  used  a  still  earlier  body  of  Thir- 
teen Articles,  a  joint  product  of  English  £ind  German  theolo- 
gians. During  the  reign  of  Mary  return  was  made  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  position,  and  the  Forty-two  Articles  were  set 
aside.  They  were  revised  and  reintroduced  under  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, several  of  Cranmer's  articles  being  omitted  and  others 
written,  making  the  present  number.  These  were  adopted  and 
issued  in  1571.  The  American  Articles  differ  from  the  English 
in  only  a  few  particulars — they  omit  mention  of  the  Athanasian 
Creed,  of  archbishops,  and  of  general  councils,  and  recast  Arti- 
cle XXXVII  so  as  to  suit  the  different  political  situation  and 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State  in  America. 

[524] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

The  Articles  follow  the  ecumenical  creeds  in  the  statement 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  of  Christology;  they  are 
Protestant  in  matters  concerning  Scripture,  justification,  faith 
and  works,  the  Church,  and  the  number  of  sacraments ;  Augus- 
tinian-Lutheran  on  sin,  free-will,  and  grace;  moderately  Cal- 
vinistic  in  predestination  and  the  Lord's  Supper;  and  in  the 
English  form  teach  the  union  of  Church  and  State. 

They  are  printed  usually  at  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  of  the  two  communions,  and  also  in  SchafTs  Creeds, 
iii,  487-616. 


LATER  DENOMINATIONAL  FORMULATIONS 

The  creeds  or  confessions  of  denominations  other  than 
those  already  noted  are  in  the  main  derived  either  directly  or 
indirectly  from  the  Protestant  creeds  already  given  or  de- 
scribed, and  all,  except  the  Unitarian  and  Quaker  formulas, 
presuppose  the  "ecumenical"  creeds.  Thus  the  (Congrega^ 
tional)  Savoy  Declaration  is  the  Westminster  Confession  with 
such  modifications  as  deal  in  the  main  with  church  government 
and  discipline,  with  the  relations  of  Church  and  State,  and 
with  marriage.  Similarly  the  Twenty-five  Articles  of  Meth- 
odism abridge  and  Arminianjze  the  Thirty-nine  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  embodying  the  "Five  Points"  of  Arminianism — freedom 
of  the  will,  self-limitation  of  divine  sovereignty,  foreknowledge 
as  conditioning  predestination,  universal  redemption,  and  re- 
sistibility  of  grace  with  the  possibility  of  final  apostasy.  Some 
of  these,  in  addition  to  stating  the  common  ecumenical  and 
Protestant  doctrines,  stress  the  peculiar  tenets  of  the  denomi- 
nation. Thus  the  "Confession  of  Waterland"  acknowledged 
by  most  Mennonites  rejects  oaths,  infant  baptism,  and  secular 
oflSce-holding,  and  does  not  regard  hereditary  sin  as  guilt.  The 
Friends  lay  emphasis  upon  the  inner  light  or  immediate  reve- 
lation. Some  of  the  denominations,  such  as  the  Congregation- 
alists,  have  in  recent  years  formulated  short  statements,  but 
rather  as  model  creeds  than  as  obligatory  formulas.     It  must 

[525] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

not  escape  notice,  however,  that  In  churches  the  polity  of  which 
is  Congregational  the  local  churches  form  their  own  creeds, 
and  no  general  formula  is  regarded  as  obligatory  unless  adopted 
by  the  local  organization. 


REORGANIZED  CHURCH  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  OF 
LATTER  DAY  SAINTS 

Epitome  of  the  Faith  and  Docteines 

We  believe  in  God  the  Eternal  Father,  and  in  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Matt.  28:  19.  1  John  1:  3. 
St.  John  11 :  26. 

We  believe  that  men  will  be  punished  for  their  own  sins, 
and  not  for  Adam's  transgression.  Ecc.  12 :  14.  Matt.  16 :  27. 
1  Cor.  3:  13.    Rev.  20:  12-15. 

We  believe  that  through  the  atonement  of  Christ,  all  men 
may  be  saved  by  obedience  to  the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the 
gospel.     1  Cor.  15:  3.     2  Tim.  1:  10.    Rom.  8:  1-6. 

We  believe  that  these  ordinances  are: — 

(1st.)  Faith  in  God  and  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Heb. 
11:  6.  1  Pet.  1:  21.  1  Tim.  4:  10.  John  3:  16,  18,  36. 
Mark  11:  22.    John  14:  1. 

(2d.)  Repentance.  Matt.  3:  2,  8,  11.  Luke  13 :  3 ;  24 :  47. 
Ezek.  18:  30.  Mark  1 :  5,  15.  Acts  2:  38.  Rom.  2:  4.  2 
Cor.  7:  10. 

(3d.)  Baptism  by  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
Matt.  3:  13-15.  Mark  1 :  4,  5.  Luke  3:  3.  John  3:  5.  Acts 
2:  38;  22:  16;  2:  41;  8:  12,  37,  38.  Mark  16:  16.  Col.  2: 
12.    Rom.  6:4,  5.    John  3:  23.    Acts  8:  38,  39. 

(4th.)  Laying  on  of  hands  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Deut.  34 :  9.  John  20 :  21,  22.  Acts  8 :  17 ;  19 :  6.  1  Tim.  4: 
14.     Acts  9:  17.     1  Cor.  12:  3.     Acts  19:  1-6. 

(5th.)  We  believe  in  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body;  that 
the  dead  in  Christ  will  rise  first,  and  the  rest  of  the  dead  will 
not  live  again  until  the  thousand  years  are  expired.  Job  19: 
25,26.  Dan.  12:2.  1  Cor.  15:  42.  1  Thes.  4:  16.  Rev.  20: 
6.  Acts  17:  31.  Phil.  3:  21.  John  11:  24.  Isa.  26:  19. 
Ps.  17:  15. 

(6th.)  We  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  Eternal  Judgment, 

[526] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

which  provides  that  men  shall  be  judged,  rewarded,  or  punished, 
according  to  the  degree  of  good,  or  evil,  they  shall  have  done. 
Rev.  20:  12.  Ecc.  3:  17.  Matt.  16;  27.  2  Cor.  5:  10.  2 
Pet.  2:  4,  13,  17. 

We  believe  that  a  man  must  be  Called  of  God,  and  ordained 
by  the  Laying  on  of  Hajids  of  those  who  are  in  authority,  to 
entitle  him  to  preach  the  Gospel,  arid  Administer  in  the  Ordi- 
nances thereof.  Heb.  6;  1,  5,  6,  8.  Acts  1:  24,  26;  14:  23. 
Eph.  4:  11.     John  15:  16. 

We  believe  in  the  same  kind  of  organization  that  existed 
in  the  primitive  church,  viz.:  Apostles,  Prophets,  Pastors, 
Teachers,  Evangelists,  etc.  1  Cor.  12:  28.  Matt.  10:  1. 
Acts  6:4.    Eph.  4:  11 ;  2:  20.    Titus  1 :  5. 

We  believe  that  in  the  Bible  is  contained  the  word  of  God, 
so  far  as  it  is  translated  correctly.  We  believe  that  the  canon 
of  scripture  is  not  full,  but  that  God,  by  His  Spirit,  will  con- 
tinue to  reveal  His  word  to  man  until  the  end  of  time.  Job 
32:8.  Heb.  13:  8.  Prov.  29:  18.  Amos  3:  7.  Jer.  23:  4; 
31:  31,  34;  33:  6.  Ps.  85:  10,  11.  Luke  17:  26.  Rev.  14: 
6,  7;  19:  10. 

We  believe  in  the  powers  and  gifts  of  the  everlasting  gospel, 
viz.:  the  gift  of  faith,  discerning  of  spirits,  prophecy,  revela- 
tion, healing,  visions,  tongues,  and  the  interpretation  of 
tongues,  wisdom,  charity,  brotherly  love,  etc.  1  Cor.  12:  1-11 ; 
14:26.  John  14:  24.  Acts  2:  3.  Matt.  28:  19,  20.  Mark 
16:  16. 

We  believe  that  Marriage  is  ordained  of  God ;  and  that  the 
law  of  God  provides  for  but  one  companion  in  wedlock,  for 
either  man  or  woman,  except  in  cases  where  the  contract  of 
marriage  is  broken  by  death  or  transgression.  Gen.  2:18,  21- 
24;7:1,  7,  13.  Prov.  5:  15-21.  Mai.  2:  14,  15.  Matt.  19: 
4-6.     1  Cor.  7:2.    Heb.  13:  4.    D.  &  C.  42:  7;  49:  3. 

We  believe  that  the  doctrines  of  a  plurality  and  a  com- 
munity of  wives  are  heresies,  and  are  opposed  to  the  law  of 
God.  Gen.  4:  19,  23,  24;  7:  9;  22:  2,  in  connection  Gal.  4th 
and  5th  ch.     Gen.  21 :  8-10.     Mai.  2 :  14,  15.     Matt.  19 :  3-9. 

We  believe  that  in  all  matters  of  controversy  upon  the  duty 
of  man  toward  God,  and  in  reference  to  preparation  and  fit- 
ness for  the  world  to  come,  the  word  of  God  should  be  decisive 
and  the  end  of  dispute ;  and  that  when  God  directs,  man  should 
obey. 

We  believe  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  taught  in 

[527] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  will,  if  its  precepts  are  accepted 
and  obeyed,  make  men  and  women  better  in  the  domestic  circle, 
and  better  citizens  of  town,  county  and  state,  and  consequently 
better  fitted  for  the  change  which  cometh  at  death. 

We  believe  that  men  should  worship  God  in  "Spirit  and  in 
truth";  and  that  such  worship  does  not  require  a  violation  of 
the  constitutional  law  of  the  land.  John  4 :  21-24.  Doctrine 
and  Covenants,  sec.  58,  par.  5. 

We  claim  the  privilege  of  worshipping  Almighty  God  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  our  conscience,  allow  all  men  the 
same  privilege,  let  them  worship  how,  where,  or  what  they  may. 

Communicated  by  R.  S.  Salyaedo,  Secretary. 


SOUTHERN  PRESBYTERIAN— UNITED  PRESBYTE- 
RIAN PROPOSED  FORMULA 

The  following  is  the  doctrinal  basis  of  union  proposed  by 
the  joint  committee  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  and  United 
Presbyterian  churches,  certified  as  correct  by  John  Crawford 
Scouller,  D.D.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  a  member  of  the  committee: 

Believing  in  the  essential  oneness  of  the  Church  of  Christ; 
remembering  the  historic  lines  that  bind  us  to  revered  ancestors, 
who  witnessed  valiantly  for  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  and 
through  whom  hais  come  to  us  a  common  heritage  of  Christian 
faith  and  doctrine ;  desiring  to  prove  faithful  in  the  custodian- 
ship of  this  inheritance  and  aiming  only  for  the  glory  of  God 
in  the  higher  advancement  and  wider  extension  of  His  Kingdom 
upon  earth,  we,  the  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  and  the  members  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  of  North  America  do  find  a  common  standing  ground 
in  the  following  statements ;  and  upon  the  basis  of  these  funda- 
mental truths  we  covenant  to  join  our  ecclesiastical  bodies  in 
organic  unity. 

I.  The  doctrinal  standards  now  held  in  common  by  these 
two  churches,  viz.:  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  the 
Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms,  shall  be  the  doctrinal  stand- 
ards of  the  United  Church. 

II.  The  standards  are  to  be  interpreted  in  their  natural  and 
obvious  meaning,  and  no  one  shall  be  authorized  to  teach  or 

[528] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

preach  in  the  united  church  who  cannot  give  an  unqualified 
assent  to  the  doctrinal  system  contained  in  these  standards. 

in.  The  united  church  would  bear  emphatic  testimony  to 
the  following  doctrines  as  essential  parts  of  the  aforesaid  sys- 
tem: 

(a)  The  integrity  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  to  be  received  as  the  very 
word  of  God  and  their  authority  is  to  be  recognized  as  the 
only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  life. 

(b)  "Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  not  only  the  Son  of  God 
in  respect  to  his  natural,  necessary  and  eternal  relation  to  the 
Father,  but  also  the  true  and  supreme  God,  being  one  in  essence 
with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit." 

(c)  "Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  besides  the  dominion  which 
belongs  to  Him  as  God,  has  as  our  God-man  Mediator,  a  two- 
fold dominion  with  which  He  has  been  invested  by  the  Father  as 
the  reward  of  His  sufferings.  These  are:  a  dominion  over  the 
Church,  of  which  he  is  the  living  head  and  lawgiver,  and  source 
of  all  that  divine  influence  and  authority  by  which  she  is  sus- 
tained and  governed;  and  also  a  dominion  over  all  created 
persons  and  things,  which  is  exercised  by  Him  in  subserviency 
to  the  manifestation  of  God's  glory  in  the  system  of  redemption 
and  the  interests  of  His  Church." 

(d)  As  to  the  constitution  of  the  person  of  our  Redeemer, 
the  Scriptures  plainly  teach  that  He  was  conceived  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  was  bom  without 
a  human  father.  He  lived  a  life  of  perfect  obedience,  and  by 
the  shedding  of  his  blood  made  full  atonement  for  sin  and 
purchased  redemption  for  his  people. 

(e)  "The  Holy  Spirit,  the  third  person  of  the  Trinity, 
eternally  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  does,  by  a 
direct  operation  accompanying  the  word,  so  act  on  the  soul 
as  to  quicken,  regenerate  and  sanctify  it;  it  is  His  to  take 
of  the  things  of  Christ  and  show  them  unto  men ;  and  without 
His  direct  operation  the  soul  would  persist  in  rejecting  the 
truths  of  God's  Word  and  would  refuse  to  yield  to  the  motives 
which  it  presents."  In  his  gracious  work,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  revealer  of  Christ,  the  interpreter  of  his  word  and  the  com- 
forter of  the  believer. 

In  addition  to  these  essential  doctrines,  the  united  church 
would  lift  into  prominence: 

(1)  The  mission  of  the  Church.    We  believe  that  the  gospel 

15W1 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

of  the  Son  of  God  is  the  only  hope  of  a  sinful,  dying  world. 
We  recognize  in  the  commands  of  Christ  the  urgent  call  to 
the  evangelization  of  the  world  and  we  bow  before  the  impera- 
tive duty  of  sending  the  message  of  the  Word  for  a  witness 
among  all  nations. 

(2)  The  exclusively  spiritual  character  of  the  Church's 
mission.  This  union  is  based  on  the  statement  of  our  common 
Confession  of  Faith,  viz.— ^"Synods  and  councils  are  to  handle 
or  conclude  nothing  but  that  which  is  ecclesiastical:  and  are 
not  to  intermeddle  with  civil  aifairs  which  concern  the  com- 
monwealth, unless  by  way  of  humble  petition  in  cases  extraordi- 
nary; or  by  way  of  advice  for  satisfaction  of  conscience,  if 
they  be  thereunto  required  by  the  civil  magistrate." 

(3)  The  exclusively  spiritual  character  of  the  mission  of 
the  Church  does  not  imply  that  the  Church  owes  no  duty  to 
civil  society.  On  the  contrary  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the 
Church,  through  its  members  as  citizens  of  the  civil  common- 
wealth, to  apply  the  principles  of  Christianity  to  all  the  polit- 
ical, social  and  industrial  conditions  of  society, 


[530] 


ESTABLISHED  FORMS  FOR 
RECEPTION    OF    MEMBERS 


[531] 


FORMS  FOR  RECEPTION  OF  MEMBERS 

The  following  forms  for  reception  into  membership  are 
fairly  representative  of  the  methods  in  use  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  Protestant  Church,  embracing  the  various  types 
of  church  polity.  They  are  derived  either  from  the  service 
books  in  use  in  the  respective  denominations  (at  the  sugges- 
tion of  some  recognized  authority  or  official),  or  were  directly 
communicated  by  those  whose  names  are  appended. 

BAPTIST 

Baptist  churches  do  not  have  a  formula  or  creed  to  which 
those  who  join  the  church  are  expected  to  subscribe.  Each 
church  adopts  for  itself  what  are  known  as  Articles  of  Faith 
and  the  Church  Covenant.  These  vary  slightly  in  each  local 
church. 

Our  associations  and  conventions  are  purely  voluntary  or- 
ganizations, demanding  no  credal  acceptance  as  prerequisite  for 
membership,  and  they  deal  for  the  most  part  with  missionary 
problems. 

Communicated  by  Howaed  Wayne  Smith,  D.D.,  Assistant 
Secretary,  American  Baptist  Publication  Society. 

CHRISTIAN    REFORMED    CHURCH 

Those  who  join  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  are  sup- 
posed to  accept  as  the  statements  of  their  belief  the  three 
creeds  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  Dutch  origin :  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism,  the  Belgic  Confession,  and  the  Canons  of 
Dordrecht  against  the  Arminians.  They  are  instructed  in  the 
outlines  of  these  credal  statements  before  they  appear  before 
the  consistories  (sessions)  to  confess  their  personal  faith  and 
are  questioned  as  to  the  main  truths  contained  therein* 

1533  2 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

At  their  public  confession,  before  the  church,  they  are  asked 
to  reply  to  the  following  questions: 

Do  you  confess  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments contained  in  the  Articles  of  the  Christian  faith  and 
taught  in  this  Christian  Church  is  the  true  and  perfect  doc- 
trine of  salvation? 

Do  you  purpose,  through  God's  grace,  to  abide  by  this 
doctrine,  rejecting  all  heresies  contrary  to  it,  and  walk  in  a 
new  and  holy  life? 

Do  you  submit  to  the  government  of  our  church,  and  in 
case  you  should  err  in  doctrine  or  life  (which  God  forbid!), 
will  you  subject  yourself  to  our  church  discipline? 

Communicated  by  Heney  Beets,  LL.D.,  Stated  Clerk, 
Christian  Reformed  Church. 

CONGREGATIONALIST 

In  the  Congregational  denomination  each  church  determines 
its  own  form  for  reception  of  members.  The  following,  as 
given  by  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  in  The  Outlook,  Jan.  4,  1913,  was 
used  for  many  years  in  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Do  you  now  avouch  the  Lord  Jehovah  to  be  your  God, 
Jesus  Christ  to  be  your  Saviour,  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  your 
Sanctifier?  Renouncing  the  dominion  of  this  world  over  you, 
do  you  consecrate  your  whole  soul  and  body  to  the  service  of 
God?  Do  you  receive  His  word  as  the  rule  of  your  life,  and, 
by  His  grace  assisting  you,  will  you  persevere  in  this  conse- 
cration unto  the  end? 


EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCHES,  BADEN, 
GERMANY 

The  new  ritual  of  baptism  which  the  Upper  Consistory  of 
Baden,  Germany,  has  prepared  includes  the  following  confes- 
sion to  take  the  place  of  the  Apostles'  Creed: 

1.  Holy  is  our  God,  heaven  and  earth  are  his  work.  With- 
out measure  is  his  love,  and  to  save  sinners  is  his  holy  will, 

[534] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

2.  Therefore  did  he  send  the  Saviour  to  us,  his  only  be- 
gotten son  Jesus  Christ,  the  sinless  one,  who  became  our  brother 
and  who  was  set  before  us  as  an  example.  Through  his  death 
and  resurrection  are  we  made  certain  of  our  inheritance  as  the 
children  of  our  heavenly  Father. 

3.  In  the  strength  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  Father  and  Son 
with  us,  that  we  shall  be  awakened  to  belief,  to  hope,  and  to 
love.  Also  in  pain  and  death  are  we  comforted  as  the  blessed 
of  the  Lord,  and  await  the  heavenly  inheritance. 

Chromic  der  christUchen  Welt,  Feb.  23,  1913. 


EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCHES,  HAMBURG, 

GERMANY 

The  obligation  to  be  assumed  in  future  by  the  ministers 
in  Hamburg,  Germany,  is  as  follows: 

I  vow  that  as  a  true  servant  of  the  Evangelical-Lutheran 
Church  I  will  preach  the  gospel  according  to  divine  revelation, 
(as  contained)  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  belief  on  the 
free  saving  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Chromk  der  chrutlichen  Welt,  Jan.  9, 1913. 


FRIENDS 

Our  organization  has  no  creed  or  formula,  beyond  recog^ 
nizing  the  sense  of  right  and  truth  as  being  binding  on  each 
individual.  This  is  recognized  as  the  "Inner  Light,"  the  "Voice 
of  God,"  and  as  always  to  be  obeyed.  Beyond  this  we  vary 
widely  as  to  belief.  We  aim  to  be  what  our  name  implies,  "a 
Society  of  Friends,"  mutually  strengthening  and  encouraging 
each  other  in  loyalty  to  the  "right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the 
right."  Such  a  religion  is  inconsistent  with  any  static  state- 
ment, but  must  be  constantly  restated  in  the  terms  of  growing 
experience.  We  regard  reason,  experience,  and  all  other  en- 
dowments by  which  we  meet  our  world,  as  elements  of  the  divine 
guidance. 

Communicated  by  Professor  Jesse  H.  Holmes,  Swarth- 

more  College,  Pa. 

[535] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 


The  Society  of  Friends  has  no  form  of  creed  to  be  accepted 
by  those  who  join  the  church.  A  committee  is  appointed  to 
ascertain  their  general  sympathy  with  the  principles  and 
methods  prevailing,  and  if  this  is  ascertained,  they  are  re- 
ceived without  any  signature. 

Communicated  by  President  Issuac  Sharpless,  Sc.D.,  LL.D., 
L.H.D.,  Haverford  College,  Pa. 


THE  GENERAL  CHURCH  OF  THE  NEW  JERUSALEM 

No  set  creed  is  required  of  those  who  join  the  General 
Church  of  the  New  Jerusalem  (Swedenborgian).  It  is  required 
that  they  should  have  previously  been  baptized  into  the  New 
Church  and  if  the  baptism  has  taken  place  in  infancy  it  is 
customary  to  have  a  service  of  confirmation.  The  only  ques- 
tions asked  of  the  sponsors  on  behalf  of  the  child,  or  in  the 
case  of  an  adult  of  the  person  to  be  baptized,  are  as  follows : 

"Do  you  acknowledge  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earthr? 

"Do  you  acknowledge  that  evils  are  to  be  shunned  as  sins 
against  him?" 

Itt  connection  with  the  sacrament  of  baptism  there  is  in- 
struction in  the  general  doctrines  of  the  New  Church,  and  the 
acceptance  of  the  sacrament  implies  belief  in  the  New  Church 
and  in  its  doctrine. 

In  the  liturgy  of  the  General  Church  there  are  several  forms 
of  confession  of  faith,  from  which  the  following  is  selected : 

"There  is  one  God,  in  whom  is  the  divine  Trinity  of  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Spirit;  and  this  one  God,  in  his  divine  human, 
is  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ. 

"The  Sacred  Scripture  is  the  Word  of  God  and  the  divine 
truth  itself,  divinely  inspired  and  holy  in  every  syllable ;  and  by 
it  there  is  consociation  with  the  angels  and  conjunction  with 
God. 

"Saving  faith  is  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
to  follow  him  by  keeping  the  commandments  of  his  Word. 

[  536  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

"All  religion  has  relation  to  life,  and  the  life  of  religion  is 
to  do  good ;  whoever  lives  well  is  saved,  and  whoever  lives  ill  is 
condemned. 

"The  second  coming  of  the  Lord  is  not  a  coming  in  person, 
but  in  his  Word,  which  is  from  him  and  is  himself. 

"The  Lord  in  His  second  coming  reveals  the  spiritual  sense 
of  the  Word,  whereby  a  New  Church  is  to  be  established  on 
earth,  which  is  the  New  Jerusalem. 

"The  New  Church  is  the  crown  of  all  the  churches  that  have 
hitherto  been  in  the  world. 

"The  second  coming  of  the  Lord  was  effected  by  means  of  a 
man,  his  servant,  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  before  whom  he  mani- 
fested himself  in  person,  and  whom  he  filled  with  his  spirit,  to 
teach  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church,  through  the  Word  from 
him." 

Communicated  by  Wm.  H.  Alden,  Bryn  Athyn,  Pa. 


MENNONITES 

1.  Do  you  believe  in  one  true,  eternal,  and  almighty  God, 
who  is  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  all  visible  and  invisible 
things  ? 

2.  Do  you  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,  that  he  is  the  only  Saviour  of  mankind,  that  he  died 
upon  the  cross,  and  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  our  sins,  that 
through  him  we  might  have  eternal  life.'* 

3.  Do  you  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost  which  proceedeth  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son;  that  he  is  an  abiding  Comforter, 
sanctifies  the  hearts  of  men,  and  guides  them  into  all  truth? 

4.  Are  you  truly  sorry  for  your  past  sins,  and  are  you 
willing  to  renounce  Satan,  the  world,  and  all  works  of  darkness 
and  your  own  carnal  will  and  sinful  desires? 

5.  Do  you  promise  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  aid  of 
his  Holy  Spirit,  to  submit  yourself  to  Christ  and  his  word, 
and  faithfully  to  abide  in  the  same  until  death? 

METHODIST    EPISCOPAL 

Do  you  here,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  this  Congre- 
gation, renew  the  solemn  promise  contained  in  the  Baptismal 
Covenant,  ratifying  and  confirming  the  same,  and  acknowledg- 

[537] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

ing  yotbrselves  baund  faithfully  to  observe  and  keep  that  Cove- 
nant? 

Have  you  saving  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 

Do  you  believe  in  the  Doctrines  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as 
set  forth  in  the  Articles  of  Religion  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church? 

Will  you  cheerfully  be  governed  by  the  Rules  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  hold  sacred  the  Ordinances  of  God, 
and  endeavor,  as  much  as  in  you  lies,  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  your  brethren  and  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom? 

Will  you  contribute  of  your  earthly  substance,  according 
to  your  ability,  to  the  support  of  the  Gospel  and  the  various 
benevolent  enterprises  of  the  Church? 

The  mention  of  the  "Baptismal  Covenant"  above  calls  for 
the  following  citation  from  the  forms  in  use  at  baptism  of 
infants  and  of  adults  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

At  baptism  of  infants  this  formula  is  used,  the  parents  or 
sponsors  being  addressed: 

Dearly  Beloved,  forasmuch  as  this  child  is  now  presented 
by  you  for  Christian  Baptism,  you  must  remember  that  it  is 
your  part  and  duty  to  see  that  he  be  taught,  as  soon  as  he 
shall  be  able  to  learn,  the  nature  and  end  of  this  Holy  Sacra- 
ment. And  that  he  may  know  these  things  the  better,  you  shall 
call,  upon  him  to  give  reverent  attendance  upon  the  appointed 
means  of  grace,  such  as  the  ministry  of  the  word,  and  the 
public,  and  private  worship  of  God;  and  further,  you  shall 
provide  that  he  shall  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  learn  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
the  Catechism,  and  all  other  things  which  a  Christian  ought  to 
know  and  believe  to  his  soul's  health,  in  order  that  he  may 
be  brought  up  to  lead  a  virtuous  and  holy  life,  remembering 
always  that  Baptism  doth  represent  unto  us  that  inward  purity 
which  disposeth  us  to  follow  the  example  of  our  Saviour  Christ ; 
that,  as  he  died  and  rose  again  for  us,  so  should  we,  who  are 
baptized,  die  unto  sin  and  rise  again  unto  righteousness,  con- 
tinually mortifying  all  corrupt  affections,  and  daily  proceeding 
in  all  virtue  and  godliness. 

Do  you  therefore  solemnly  engage  to  fulfil  these  duties,  so 
far  as  in  you  lies,  the  Lord  being  your  helper? 

[  5S8  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

At  baptism  of  adults  this  formula  is  used,  the  candidates 
for  baptism  being  addressed : 

Dost  thou  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  the  vain 
pomp  and  glory  of  the  world,  with  all  covetous  desires  of  the 
same,  and  the  carnal  desires  of  the  flesh,  so  that  thou  wilt  not 
follow  nor  be  led  by  them? 

Dost  thou  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth: 

And  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten  Son  our  Lord ;  and 
that  he  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  bom  of  the  Virgin 
Mary;  that  he  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified, 
dead,  and  buried;  that  he  rose  again  the  third  day;  that  he 
ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father  Almighty;  and  from  thence  shall  come  again  at  the 
end  of  the  world,  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead? 

And  dost  thou  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  holy  catholic 
Church,  the  communion  of  saints;  the  forgiveness  of  sins;  the 
resurrection  of  the  body;  and  everlasting  life  after  death? 

Wilt  thou  be  baptized  in  this  faith? 

Wilt  thou  then  obediently  keep  God's  holy  will  and  com- 
mandments, and  walk  in  the  same  all  the  days  of  thy  life? 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S.  A. 

Official  Extract  fkom  the  Minutes 
I.  The  Conditions  of  Admission  to  Church  Membership, 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  has  always  held 
and  acted  upon  the  conviction  that  it  is  a  part  of  the  visible 
and  universal  Church  of  Christ,  and  that  persons  received  by 
it  into  membership  are  received  into  the  Church  of  Christ  as 
a  whole.  This  position  is  involved  in  the  definition  of  the 
universal  Church  as  set  forth  in  Chapter  II,  Section  2,  of  the 
Form  of  Government,  which  reads:  "The  universal  Church 
consists  of  all  those  persons,  in  every  nation,  together  with 
their  children,  who  make  profession  of  the  holy  religion  of 
Christ,  and  of  submission  to  His  laws."  This  position  is  further 
sustained  by  the  teaching  that,  "Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of 
the  New  Testament,  ordained  by  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  solemn 
admission  of  the  party  baptized  into  the  visible  Church"  (Con- 

[539] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

fession  of  Faith,  Chapter  XXVHI,  Section  1).  It  is  to  be 
clearly  understood,  that  the  doctrines  of  the  universality  and 
unity  of  the  Church  are  acknowledged  and  maintained  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church  alike  by  its  definition  of  the  nature  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  by  its  view  of  baptism  as  the  sign  and 
seal  of  membership  therein. 

Into  this  universal  Church,  the  Presbyterian  Church  holds 
that  6idmission  is  secured  by  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ 
and  obedience  to  Him.  In  the  Confession  of  Faith,  Chapter 
XXVIII,  Section  4,  the  statement  is  made,  "Not  only  those 
who  do  actually  profess  faith  in  and  oh^edience  unto  Christy 
but  also  the  infants  of  one  or  both  believing  parents  are  to  be 
baptized." 

In  the  Larger  Catechism,  Question  166,  it  is  said,  "Baptism 
is  not  to  be  administered  to  any  that  are  out  of  the  visible 
Church,  till  they  profess  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  obedience 
to  Him."  The  Shorter  Catechism,  Question  95,  makes  the 
same  declaration. 

The  three  steps,  therefore,  by  which  a  person  enters  the 
Christian  Church  are  by  the  Standards  of  this  Church:  (1)  A 
profession  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ;  (2)  A  profession  of  obe- 
dience to  Jesus  Christ;  (3)  Baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  These  conditions  of 
membership  are  based  upon  such  Biblical  passages  as  Matt, 
xxviii.  19 ;  Acts  ii.  38,  xvi.  31-33 ;  Rom.  x.  8-10. 

That  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  entitled  to  judge  through 
its  proper  officers  of  the  credibility  of  the  professions  made  by 
applicants  for  membership,  with  a  view  to  their  baptism,  is 
evident  from  Holy  Scripture,  and  so  likewise  is  the  duty  of  the 
Church  to  teach,  counsel  and  judge  its  members  both  as  to 
truth  and  life.    Admission  involves  instruction  and  development. 

The  Committee  recommends  the  following  declaration: 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  gathered  in 
General  Assembly,  hereby  solemnly  declares  and  reaffirms,  in 
loyalty  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  universal,  that  the 
only  conditions  of  admission  to  the  Church  are,  a  profession 
of  faith  in  .Christ  and  obedience  to  Him,  followed  by  baptism 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

Minutes,  General  Assembly,  1911,  p.  242. 
Attest :     Wm.  Heney  Roberts,  Stated  Clerk. 

[  540  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 

Admission  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  is  through 
baptism  and  confirmation,  and  the  essentials  are  the  pledge 
at  baptism,  either  by  sponsors  or  in  person,  and  the  personal 
assumption  of  the  baptismal  vow  at  confirmation,  as  follows : 

At  Baptism: 

Dost  thou,  in  the  name  of  this  child,  renounce  the  devil  and 
all  his  works,  the  vain  pomp  and  glory  of  the  world,  with  all 
covetous  desires  of  the  same,  and  the  sinful  desires  of  the  flesh, 
so  that  thou  wilt  not  follow,  nor  be  led  by  them? 

Dost  thou  believe  all  the  Articles  of  the  Christian  Faith, 
as  contained  in  the  Apostles'  Creed? 

Wilt  thou  be  baptized  in  this  Faith? 

Wilt  thou  then  obediently  keep  God's  holy  will  and  com- 
mandments, and  walk  in  the  same  all  the  days  of  thy  life? 

At  Confirmation: 

Do  ye  here,  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  of  this  congre- 
gation, renew  the  solemn  promise  and  vow  that  ye  made,  or 
that  was  made  in  your  name,  at  your  baptism;  ratifying  and 
confirming  the  same;  and  acknowledging  yourselves  bound  to 
believe  and  to  do  all  those  things  which  ye  then  undertook,  or 
your  sponsors  then  undertook  for  you? 


REFORM   CHURCH   OF   THE   ORATORY,   PARIS, 

FRANCE 

**The  Reform  Church  of  the  Oratory  makes  its  appeal  to 
all  who  desire  to  realize  the  Christian  ideal  of  a  fraternal 
church.  Its  members  regard  each  other  as  brothers,  even 
though  theological  differences  exist  among  them.  In  com- 
munion with  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  with  the  different  symbols  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  France,  they  profess  the  union  of  hearts,  mutual 
respect,  and  complete  loyalty  in  the  entire  Christian  liberty. 
They  aflSrm,  with  joy,  their  common  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  disciples,  concerning  whom  they  find  the  substance  in  the 
following  words  of  the  divine  Master:  John  3:  16;  John  17:  3; 

[541  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

John  11 :  25 ;  Luke  19 :  10 ;  John  3:3;  Matthew  22 :  37 ;  John 
4:24."     (See  page  157.) 

GASTON  BONET-MAURY. 


REFORMED    (DUTCH)     CHURCH    IN    AMERICA 

As  a  Church  we  have  our  Confession  of  Faith,  as  "Re- 
vised in  the  National  Synod  held  at  Dordrecht  in  the  years 
1618  and  1619."*  At  the  end  of  "A  Compendium  of  the 
Christian  Religion,  for  those  who  intend  to  approach  the  Holy 
Supper  of  the  Lord,"  found  in  our  old  Hymn  Books,  there 
is   the   following: 

"When  those  who  are  inclined  to  become  members  in  full 
communion  of  the  Church,  and  to  approach  the  Holy  Supper 
of  the  Lord,  thoroughly  know  and  confess  these  fundamen- 
tal truths,  they  are  then  to  be  asked  whether  they  have  any 
doubt  in  any  point  concerning  the  doctrine;  to  the  end  they 
may  be  satisfied.  •  And  in  case  any  of  them  should  answer  in 
the  affirmative^  endeavors  must  be  used  to  convince  them  from 
the  Scriptures;  and  if  they  are  all  satisfied,  they  must  be 
asked  whether  they  have  experienced  the  power  of  the  truth 
in  their  hearts,  and  are  willing  and  desirous  to  be  saved  by 
Jesus  Christ  from  their  sins;  and  whether  they  propose  by 
the  grace  of  God,  to  preserve  in  this  doctrine,  to  forsake  the 
world,  and  lead  a  new  Christian  life;  and  lastly,  whether  they 
will  submit  themselves  to  the  Christian  discipline." 

In  "The  Office  for  the  Reception  into  Full  Communion  of 
Those  Who  Have  Been  Baptised  in  Infancy"  the  Apostles* 
Creed  is  read  to  the  persons  to  be  admitted  and  they  are  then 
asked : 

"Do  you  propose  steadfastly  to  continue  to  the  end  of 
your  life  in  the  truths  affirmed  in  these  articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  as  they  are  taught  here  in  this  church,  according 
to  the  Word  of  God? 

"Do  you  promise  to  persevere  in  the  communion  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  in  the  diligent  use  of  all  the  means  of 
grace,  especially  in  the  hearing  of  the  Word  and  the  use  of  the 

*  The  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort.    See  above,  pp.  522-523. 

[  542  ] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Lord's  Supper,  to  seek  the  things  that  make  for  purity  and 
peace,  and  to  submit  yourself  to  all  Christian  care  and  ad- 
monition?" 

Communicated  by  Wm.  H.  DeHaet,  Stated  Clerk,  Re- 
formed Church  in  America. 

REFORMED  (GERMAN)   CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED 

STATES 

Admission  to  the  Reformed  (German)  Church  in  the  United 
States  presupposes  baptism  and  confirmation,  the  essential 
parts  of  the  forms  being  the  following: 

You  present  this  child  here  and  do  seek  for  Mm  deliverance 
from  the  power  of  the  devil,  the  remission  of  sin,  and  the  gift 
of  a  new  and  spiritual  life  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the 
sacrament  of  baptism,  which  Christ  hath  ordained  for  the 
communication  of  such  great  grace.  These  benefits  God,  on 
his  part,  will  most  surely  bestow,  for  the  sake  of  his  well 
beloved  Son:  wherefore  in  the  presence  of  God  and  these  wit- 
nesses, I  require  of  you,  who  are  the  sureties  of  this  child,  that 
on  his  part,  and  for  him,  who  cannot  answer  for  himself,  you 
do  now  make  that  confession  of  unfeigned  faith,  out  of  a  pure 
conscience,  which  Almighty  God  shall  accept  and  answer,  by 
vouchsafing  his  holy  baptism. 

Then  shall  the  Minister  address  to  the  parents  or  sponsors, 
the  following  questions. 

Dost  thou,  in  the  name  of  this  child,  renounce  the  devil 
with  all  his  ways  and  works,  the  world  with  its  vain  pomp  and 
glory,  and  the  flesh  with  all  its  sinful  desires? 

Dost  thou  believe — 

(Here  follows  the  Apostles'  Creed.) 

Wilt  thou  that  this  child  be  baptized  in  this  faith? 

Dost  thou  promise  to  bring  up  this  child  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  our 
holy  religion? 

Forasmuch  as  you  have  now  dedicated  this  chUd  by  baptism 
to  the  service  of  the  Triune  God,  you  must  remember  that  it 
is  your  duty  to  train  him  up,  by  precept  and  example,  in  the 
true  knowledge  and  fear  of  God  according  to  the  articles  of  the 
Christian  faith  and  doctrine,  as  contained  in  the  Old  and  New 

[  543  ] 


THE  CHUECH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Testament,  and  in  the  symbols  of  the  Church.  Especially  is 
it  your  duty,  so  soon  as  he  shall  be  able  to  learn,  to  remind 
him  often  of  his  baptismal  vows  and  obligations,  and  in  partic- 
ular to  teach  him  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and 
the  Ten  Commandments,  that  he  may  know  how  to  pray,  what 
to  believe,  and  how  to  live.  Finally,  you  are  to  see  to  it,  that 
he  be  brought  at  the  proper  time  to  the  minister,  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  catechism,  and  prepared  for  confirmation  and 
holy  communion;  that  he  may  heartily  renew  his  baptismal 
vows,  renounce  in  his  own  name  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil,  profess  Jesus  Christ,  and  ever  honor  this  profession  by  a 
holy  life  and  conversation,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salva- 
tion of  his  soul. 

You  are  come  hither  seeking  deliverance  from  the  power 
of  the  devil,  the  remission  of  sin,  and  the  gift  of  a  new  and 
spiritual  life  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the  Sacrament  of 
Baptism,  which  Christ  hath  ordained  by  the  communication  of 
such  great  grace.  These  benefits  God,  on  His  part,  will  most 
surely  bestow,  for  the  sake  of  His  well  beloved  Son :  wherefore, 
in  the  presence  of  God  and  these  witnesses,  I  require  of  you, 
that  you,  on  your  part,  do  now  make  that  confession  of  un- 
feigned faith,  out  of  a  pure  conscience,  which  Almighty  God 
shall  accept  and  answer,  by  vouchsafing  His  holy  Baptism. 

Then  shall  the  Minister  address  to  the  person  or  persons 
to  be  baptized  the  following  questions: 

Dost  thou  renounce  the  Devil  with  all  his  ways  and  works, 
the  world  with  its  vain  pomp  and  glory,  and  the  flesh  with  all 
its  sinful  desires.? 

Dost  thou  believe — 

(Here  follows  the  Apostles'  Creed.) 

Wilt  thou  be  baptized  in  this  faith.? 

Doth  thou  promise  to  follow  Christ,  and  to  keep  His  com- 
mandments, all  the  days  of  thy  life.? 

Admission  is  completed  at  confirmation,  the  principal  form- 
ula of  which  follows ; 

As  children  of  your  heavenly  Father,  called  to  a  holy  priest- 
hood in  the  Church,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices  to  God  by 
Jesus  Christ,  you  are  now  to  receive  the  solemn  rite  of  Con- 
firmation by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  as  your  full  and  formal 
consecration  to  His  holy  service. 

[544] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

In  this  sacred  ordinance,  you  on  your  part  renew  and  ratify 
the  promise  and  vow  made  in  your  baptism ;  whilst  the  Church, 
in  God's  stead,  claims  you  publicly  for  His  service,  blesses  you 
in  His  name,  and  confirms  you  in  His  covenant,  invoking  upon 
you  in  larger  measure  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  whose  help  alone  you 
are  able  to  fulfil  your  vows  by  leading  holy  and  obedient  lives. 

Dost  thou  now,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  this  congre- 
gation, renew  the  solemn  promise  and  vow  made  in  your  name 
at  your  baptism?  Dost  thou  ratify  and  confirm  the  same, 
and  acknowledge  thyself  bound  to  believe  and  to  do  all  those 
things  which  your  parents  then  undertook  for  you? 

Dost  thou  renounce  the  Devil  with  all  his  ways  and  works, 
the  world  with  its  vain  pomp  and  glory,  and  the  flesh  with  all 
its  sinful  desires? 

Profess  now  your  faith  before  God  and  this  congregation. 

Here  the  catechumens,  led  by  the  Minister,  repeat  the 
Apostles'  Creed. 

Communicated  by  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Stein,  Stated  Clerk. 


SEVENTH-DAY    ADVENTISTS 

Replying  to  your  favor  asking  for  a  copy  of  the  formula 
or  creed  accepted  by  those  who  join  the  Seventh-day  Advent- 
ists,  and  form  of  accepting  members  into  the  church,  would  say 
we  have  no  creed  outside  of  the  Bible. 

I.  A.  FoED,  Washington,  D.  C. 

UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 

Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments to  be  the  Word  of  God,  the  infallible  and  only  rule  of 
faith  and  practice? 

Do  you  believe  in  the  one  living  and  true  God — Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures? 

Do  you  confess  your  guilt  and  helplessness  as  a  sinner 
against  God;  take  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour  as  He  is 
offered  in  the  Gospel;  own  Him  as  your  Lord;  and  dedicate 
yourself  to  His  service?  Do  you  covenant  with  Him  that  you 
will  endeavor  to  forsake  all  sin  and  conform  your  life  to  His 
teaching  and  example? 

[545] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

Do  you  promise,  in  order  to  such  a  life  of  holy  obedience, 
that  you  will  be  diligent  in  your  attendance  upon  all  the  ap- 
pointed means  of  grace,  in  the  performance  of  all  duty  as  it 
may  be  made  known  to  you;  that  you  will  give  the  Church  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  supreme  loyalty,  separating  yourself 
from  all  associations  you  may  find  to  be  a  hindrance  to  godli- 
ness and  the  performance  of  Christian  duties? 

Do  you  make  this  profession  of  your  faith  and  purpose 
in  the  presence  of  God,  in  humble  reliance  upon  His  grace,  and 
as  you  desire  to  give  in  your  account  with  joy  at  the  great 
day? 

Commimicated  by  D.  F.  McGill,  D.D.,  Ben- Avon,  Pa. 


UNIVERSALIST 

I.  The  Profession  of  Belief  adopted  at  the  session  at  Win- 
chester, N.  H.,  A.  D.  1803,  is  as  follows : 

Article  I.  We  believe  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  contain  a  revelation  of  the  character  of 
God  and  of  the  duty,  interest  and  final  destination  of  mankind. 

Article  II.  We  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  whose  nature 
is  love,  revealed  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  one  holy  Spirit 
of  Grace,  who  will  finally  restore  the  whole  family  of  mankind  to 
holiness  and  happiness. 

Article  HI.  We  believe  that  holiness  and  true  happiness 
are  inseparably  connected,  and  that  believers  ought  to  be  care- 
ful to  maintain  order  and  practise  good  works ;  for  these  things 
are  good  and  profitable  unto  men. 

II.  The  conditions  of  fellowship  shall  be  as  follows : 

1.  The  acceptance  of  the  essential  principles  of  the  Uni- 
versalist  faith  to  wit:  1.  The  universal  fatherhood  of  God; 
2.  The  spiritual  authority  and  leadership  of  his  Son,  Jesus 
Christ;  3.  The  trustworthiness  of  the  Bible  as  containing  a 
revelation  from  God;  4.  The  certainty  of  just  retribution  for 
sin ;  5.  The  final  harmony  of  all  souls  with  God. 

The  Winchester  Profession  is  commended  as  containing 
these  principles,  but  neither  this  nor  any  other  precise  form 
of  words  is  required  as  a  condition  of  fellowship,  provided 
always  that  the  principles  above  stated  be  professed. 

2.  The  acknowledgment  of  the  authority  of  the  General 
Convention  and  assent  to  its  law. 


FORMS 

FOR  RECEPTION  OF  MEMBERS  SUGGESTED 
BY  CONTRIBUTORS 


[547] 


FORMS    FOR   RECEPTION    OF    MEMBERS 
SUGGESTED    BY    CONTRIBUTORS 


With  the  members  of  this  Church  and  by  God's  strength 
I  do  make  this  covenant:  That  I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  teaching;  that  I  will  try  to  make  his  will  my  own  and  to  do 
each  day  what  I  think  he  would  have  me  do;  that  I  will  study 
his  words  and  strive  so  to  walk  that  my  life  may  not  be  con- 
trolled by  the  desires  and  passions  of  the  flesh,  but  by  the 

spirit  of  love  and  truth;  that  so  long  as  I  remain  in I 

will  be  true  to  this  covenant  and  to  the  fellowship  of  this 
church.     (See  p.  130.) 

Lyman  Abbott. 

II 

I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  according  to  the  Scriptures:  in 
the  authority  of  his  religious  experience  as  Son  of  God;  in 
the  supremacy  of  his  character  as  revealing  what  God  is  and 
what  man  may  become;  in  his  victory  for  himself  and  for  us 
over  the  world,  and  sin,  and  death. 

I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he 
trusted,  loved  and  served :  that  he  is  my  Father  and  the  Father 
of  all  men ;  that  he  is  love  as  Christ  was  love ;  that  he  is  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth,  of  whom  and  through  whom  and  unto 
whom  are  all  things;  and  that  he  is  ever  present  in  his  Holy 
Spirit,  striving  to  draw  all  men  unto  himself  and  to  conform 
them  to  the  likeness  of  his  Son. 

I  believe  in  man  as  a  child  of  God;  that  he  is  capable  of 
attaining  the  divine  sonship  realized  by  Christ,  which  is  eternal 
life;  that  all  men  are  brethren  one  of  another,  and  that  to 
live  as  a  son  of  God  is  to  serve  one's  brethren  as  Christ  served 
them. 

I  believe  in  the  gospel  of  salvation :  that  God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling  his  sinning  children  unto  himself,  and  that  who- 

[549] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

soever  repents,  and  trustfully  commits  himself  to  him,  is  freely 
forgiven  and  enabled  more  and  more  to  live  as  a  son  of  God, 

I  believe  in  the  kingdom  of  God — the  social  order  in  which 
love  is  supreme;  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ — the  fellowship 
of  all  his  followers  for  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom ;  and  in 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  kingdom  in  glory  everlasting.  (See 
pages  20-21.) 

Heney  Sloane  Coffin. 


ni 

1.  We  believe  in  one  supreme,  personal  God;  Father  of  our 
spirits  and  Author  of  the  universe;  Ruler  and  Judge  of  all; 
Loving  and  kind,  just  and  holy,  forgiving  and  true;  speaking 
to  every  human  heart;  willing  that  all  men  should  come  into 
fellowship  with  him. 

2.  We  believe  in  Jesus  Christ;  in  whom  the  God  of  love 
has  come  to  us;  who  gave  himself  for  all;  whom  we  own  as 
Lord  of  our  lives ;  who  has  revealed  to  us  what  we  all  may  be ; 
who  is  the  Friend  of  sinners  and  Saviour  of  all  who  seek  to  be 
like  him. 

3.  We  believe  in  the  eternal  unity  of  the  followers  of  Jesus 
in  one  Spirit ;  they  are  equal  in  the  rights  of  spiritual  brother- 
hood; they  are  servants  to  one  another;  they  are  ever  to  seek 
to  bring  all  men  of  all  races  into  the  life  of  this  one  holy  family. 

4.  We  believe  in  the  eternal  worth  of  every  man.  The  good 
gift  of  life  is  equally  precious  to  all;  the  wealth  of  the  good 
world  of  nature  is  for  all ;  every  one  has  the  right  to  the  good 
will  and  ministry  of  all ;  either  to  fail  to  render  this  service  or 
to  wrong  a  fellow-man  is  to  sin  against  God. 

6.  We  believe  in  the  sanctity  of  the  wedded  life  of  one  man 
with  one  woman  and  of  parenthood;  in  the  supremacy  of  the 
home  and  the  right  of  all  children  to  the  means  of  attaining  to 
true  manhood  and  womanhood;  in  the  sacred  dignity  of  labor 
and  of  commerce  in  its  products;  in  the  obligation  of  all  men 
to  a  pure  social  and  civil  life. 

6.  We  believe  in  the  freedom  of  religious  faith  of  thought ; 
in  the  prerogative  of  the  individual ;  in  his  right  to  propagate 
his  beliefs  among  all  men  without  violence  to  or  from  any ;  that 
in  the  exercise  of  this  liberty  lies  the  way  to  the  ultimate  unity 
of  all. 

[550] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

7.  We  believe  that  our  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  our  Father,  will  never  leave  us  or  forsake  us;  all 
things  shall  work  together  for  our  good ;  even  in  death  we  shall 
be  brought  nearer  to  him ;  in  his  presence  we  shall  live  the  life 
of  unselfish  and  eternal  blessedness.  Therefore  we  do  now 
unitedly  yield  ourselves  to  him  that  we  may  serve  him  forever. 
(See  pages  188-189.) 

Geoege  Ceoss. 

IV 

Love  and  serve  God  and  man.     (Seepage  441.) 

G.  Stanley  Hall. 


1.  I  believe  that  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life.  2.  I  accept  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  my  personal  Saviour  and  am  resolved,  with 
the  help  of  God,  hereafter  to  abjure  all  evil  ways,  and  to  live 
according  to  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  me  and 
gave  himself  for  me.     (See  p.  87.) 

Edwaed  J.  Hamilton. 


VI 

The  member  should  only  be  asked  to  pledge  himself  to  do 
his  best  to  know  what  is  true,  to  appreciate  what  is  beatitifid, 
and  to  promote  what  is  good,     (See  page  295.) 

John  Stuaet  Mackenzie. 


vn 

1.  Have  you  lived  long  enough  and  thought  carefully 
enough  to  realize  that  you  are  in  a  world  where  there  is  sin  in 
you  and  around  you  and  death  before  you? 

2.  Do  you  realize  that,  living  in  a  world  where  there  is 
sin  in  you  and  around  you  and  death  before  you,  you  need  a 
Saviour  of  some  kind? 

3.  Do  you  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  kind  of  a  Saviour 
set  forth  in  the  Bible  as  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man  and 

[551] 


THE  CHURCH,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  AGE 

able  to  deal  with  your  record  of  sin  through  forgiving  love, 
and  to  give  eternal  life  through  his  saving  power? 

4.  Do  you  realize  that  he  offers  himself  and  all  the  benefits 
of  his  life  and  death  and  resurrection  glory  to  you  as  the  free 
gift  of  divine  love,  and  do  you  accept  him  on  his  own  terms  as 
your  Saviour  and  Lord? 

5.  Do  you  desire  to  confess  him  as  your  Saviour  in  his 
own  appointed  way  through  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, and  to  unite  with  his  confessed  followers  in  a  life  of  testi- 
mony and  holy  service  for  him,  that  his  kingdom  may  come 
and  his  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven?   (See  page  323.) 

Robert  McWatty  Russell. 


VIII 

*'I  believe  in  our  heavenly  Father,  who  loves  us  and  gives 
us  our  daily  bread  and  all  good  things,  and  who  forgives  us 
our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors. 

"I  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  who  gave  his  life  for  others, 
preached  a  coming  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness  and 
peace,  and  bade  us  love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  the  heart 
and  love  our  neighbor  as  ourself . 

"I  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  who  helps  us 
in  our  trials,  delivers  us  from  evil,  leads  into  all  truth,  and 
works  in  us  to  do  the  will  of  God  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.'* 
(See  page  376.) 

Milton  S.  Teeey. 

IX 

"I  believe  in  the  Fatherhood  of  God ;  I  believe  in  the  words 
of  Jesus;  I  believe  in  the  clean  heart;  I  believe  in  the  service 
of  love;  I  believe  in  the  unworldly  life;  I  believe  in  the  beati- 
tudes ;  I  promise  to  trust  God  and  follow  Christ,  to  forgive  my 
enemies  and  to  seek  after  the  righteousness  of  God." 
John  Watson  (Ian  MacLaeen),  see  p. 


[552] 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abbott,  U  123 

Absolute  of  theology— not  static,  287 

^,the,  286,  455 

Adam's  transgression,  40 

Adderley,  J.  G.,  131 

Adeney,  W.  F.,  137 

Advent  of  Christ,  second,  495 

Agnosticism,  5,  7,  53 

AUon,  H.,  365 

Altruism,  430 

American  life  as  a  disturbing  factor, 

53 
Amiel,  82 
Anabaptists,  197 
Anderson,  Sir  R.,  3 
Anglican  Articles,  524,  525 
Anglo-Catholic  party,  350 
Anthropology,  substance  of  true,  238 
Antinomy  in  the  Church,  211 
Apostles'  Creed,  10,  41,  48,  49,  77,  81, 

94,  108,  118,  144,  160,  182,  333,  383, 

486 

1  and  science,  497 

,  Roman  text  of,  512 

,  sufficiency  of,  109,  299,  356 

^,  text  of,  511,512 

1  the  irreducible  minimum,  117 

Apostolic  succession,  444 

Arian  creed,  182 

Arminianism,   Five   Articles  of,  522, 

523,  525 
Arrhenius,  Svante  August,  139 
Articles,  Anglican,  200,  524,  525 

^,  Methodist,  525 

f  Protestant  Episcopal,  524,  525 

y  the  Forty-two,  524 

,  the  Thirty-nine,  200,  524,  525 

,  Twenty-five,  525 

Astley,  H.  J.  D.,  141 

Athanasian  Creed,  118,  350,  358,  396, 

514-518 
Atonement,  5,  25,  26,  32,  57,  78,  113 
Attendance  at  church,  138,  440 
Attractions  and  diversions,  multiform, 

53 
Augsburg  Confession,  208,  519,  520 
Authority,  church  of,  62 
,  ecclesiastical,  444 


Authority,  ecclesiastical,  and  science, 
425,  426 

,  of  the  Old  Testament,  9 

— ^,of  traditional  tests  of  faith,  183 
Avarice,  156 
Avebury,  Baron,  145 

Baden  ritual  of  baptism,  534,  535 

Ballantine,  W.  G.,  146 

Baptism,  9,  10,  49 

,  Baden  ritual  of,  534,  535 

Baptismal  creed,  10 

Baptist  conditions  of  membership,  533 

Barnett,  S.  A.,  15 

Barton,  J.  L.,  147 

Basis  of  church,  492 

Beecher,  H.  W^  126,  409 

Beet,  J.  A.,  150 

Belgic  Confession  of  Faith,  240,  521, 
522 

Belief,  conununity  of,  213 

,  in  Jesus  Christ,  8 

^,the  Church  as  a  community  of, 

213 

Beliefs,  survey  of,  158 

Benson,  A.  C,  153 

Bergson,  H.,  69 

Bible,  3,  4,  9,  262,  336,  394 

,  a  progressive  revelation,  4 

i  and  the  creed,  253 

f  as  a  divine  revelatiwi,  4 

^,  divine  origin  of  the,  57 

,  inspiration  of  the,  9,  25,  348 

^.legalistic  use  of,  184 

,  many-sidedness  of,  104 

f  misunderstanding  of,  134 

^,no    formal   system    of   theology 

in,  38 

^,  popularity   of   the,   in    Holland 

and  England,  377,  378 

y  public  reading  of,  134 

y  revelation  in  the,  91 

^,U.   S.   Supreme   Court  on   the, 

386 

Biblical  revelation  and  literary  criti- 
cism, 87 

and  science,  87 

Bibliolatiy,  448 


[555] 


INDEX 


Biology,  230 

Book  of  nature,  3 

Bonet-Maury,  A.  G.  C.  A.,  155 

Bonwetsch,  G.  N.,  16 

Bode  of  common  worship,  384 

Bostwick,  A.  E.,  158 

Boutroux,  130 

Bowne,  B.  P.,  69,  504 

Briggs,  C.  A.,  6,  77 

British  and  Foreign  Unitarian  Asso- 
ciation, 74 

Broad-church  party,  349 

Brotherhood,  136 

Brotherhood  and  the  Church,  474 

Brussels,  Liberal  Protestant  Church 
of,  307 

Buckham,  J.  W.,  160 

Butler,  Bishop,  295 


Cadman,  S.  P.,  162 

Canons  of  Dort,  522,  523 

Carpenter,  B.,  350 

Catechisms,  365 

Causes  of  religious  indifference,  318, 
341,  368,  385,  401,  402,  484ff,  503 

Central  Congregational  Church,  Bos- 
ton, covenant  of,  130 

Ceremonies  as  conserving  and  educa- 
tive forces,  220 

Chalcedon,  council  of,  10,  254 

,  symbol  of,  513,  514 

Chalmers,  Dr.,  365 

Chamberiain,  A.  F.,  417 

Character,  building  a,  261 

Qiicago,  World-Parliament  of  Relig- 
ions in,  307,  374 

Children's  vow  at  confirmation,  333 

Chillingworth,  394 

Christ  or  Jesus,  252,  253 

Christian  a  pupil  in  Christ's  school, 
262 

attitude  to  Christ,  205,  206,  220 

Church,  6,  8,  9,  10, 11,  13,  18 

Church,  success  of  the,  60 

churches,  unanimity  of  all,  151 

Commission,  410 

creed,  development  in  the,  118 

,  definition  of,  259 

devotion,  variety  of,  104 

discipleship,  basis  of,  398 

doctrines,  36,  38 

experience,  160,  239,  248 

experiences,  need  of  restating,  220 

Christian  faith,  29,  30,  75,  94. 

^.essentials  of,  168 

^,  power  of,  292 

—,  scope  of,  98,  105 


Christian  history,  187 

ideal,  12,  186 

institutions  in  history,  220 

life,  30,  39,  340 

life,  simplicity  of,  261 

morality,  supreme  law  of,  243 

principle  of  love,  7 

purpose  as  bond  of  membership, 

128,  129 
Reformed  Church,  conditions  of 

membership  in,  533,  534 

revelation,  purpose  of,  185 

Science,  374 

socialism,  371 

spirit,  106 

theology,  362 

Christianity,  5,  6,  8,  11,  13,  14,  28,  29, 

45,  76,  77,  80,  81,  82,  91,  103,  114, 

116,  145,  184,  237,  357 

,a.  life  purpose,  441 

ta  new  life  force,  170 

and  Christ,  279,  342,  397 

and  intellectualism,  4^9 

and  morality,  314 

and  our  times,  110 

and  philosophy,  176 

and  salvation.  111 

and  science,  176,  434 

and  social  service,  499 

and  secularism,  499 

and  superstition,  379 

and  theology,  93,  94 

and  traditionalism,  499 

as  doctrine,  499 

as  purpose,  499 

as  truth,  498 

f  concerning,  498 

,  constitution  of,  395 

,  continuity  of,  252 

1  cross  the  offense  of,  112 

f  eclecticism  in,  426 

^,  essentials   of,   81,   84,   131,    162, 

215,  216,  260 

,  failure  of,  64,  65 

— — for  sinners,  110 

,  historical  verities  of,  113 

,  individual,  343 

,  institutional,  369 

^j  loyalty  to,  314 

,  meaning  of,  116 

,  obligations  of,  180 

of  Christ  social,  370 

^.primitive,  327 

y  reformation   of,  needed,   235 

,  reinterpretation  of,  502 

,  reluctance  to  surrender  the  name 

of,  113,  114 
i  revival   of,  394 


I  556^1 


INDEX 


Christianity,  scorn  of,  319 

y  simplicity  of  primitive,  241 

"-—t  social,  371 

^.social  interpretation  of,  369,370 

the  final  religion,  375 

the  power  of  a  new  life,  112 

the  science  of  right  living,  262 

.traditional,  237 

Christians  at  large,  54 
Christless  religion  inadequate^  67 
Christocentric  theology,  487 
Christological  creed,  352 
Christology,  a  spacious,  469 

,  f  ai*h  and,  207 

,  essentials  of,  206 

^,  humanitarianism  in,  78 

^,  inherited,  196 

of  Paul,  207,  208 

of  the  ancient  Church,  254 

^,  traditional,   196 

Church,  4,  5,  35,  37,  38,  58,  60,  61 

a  community  of  bdief,  213 

— —  a  historical  body,  299 

a  school  of  morals,  262 

a  social  clearing-house^  443 

and  brotherhood,  474 

and   creeds,   174,  227,   304,  331, 

472 

and  its  convictions,  268 

and  personal  salvation,  412 

and  religion,  180,  257,  258 

and  science,  215,  373 

and  service,  180 

and  social  life,  472,  473 

and  social  service,  502 

and  social  wrongs,  274 

and  State,  212 

and  the  people,  270 

and  theology,  484 

f  antagonism  toward  the,  68  — 

^,  antinomy  in  the,  211  — 

as  a  friendly  society,  48  — 

as  guardian  of  free  knowledge,      — 

213  — 

attendance,  138,  440  — 

^.attitude  of  the  laboring  classes      — 

to  the,  275  — 

,  basis  of,  395,  492  — 

,  basis  of  a  universal,  216  — 

f  change  in  the  expression  of  faith      — 

in  the,  269  — 

f  changed  scope  of  the,  355 

,  Christology  of  the  ancient,  254      — 

,  conservatism  of  the,  199,  388  — 

,  constitution  of  the,  9  — 

,  critical  situation  of  the,  298  — 

^.definition  of,  219  — 

^,  dissatisfaction  with,  417  — 

[557] 


Church,  duties  of  the,  389,  402,  427, 

462,  505 
^.estrangement  from  the,  201,  215, 

374 

,  failure  of  the,  493 

founded  on  common  sense,  249 

.functions  of  the,  346,  421,  422, 

439,  443,  462ff,   492 

^,holy  catholic,  132 

^,holy  right  of  the,  108 

,  ideals  of,  63,  42T 

^.improvement  in  the,  214 

in  Europe,  333,  334 

,  indifference  to  the,  18,  47,  48,  52, 

68.  59,  60,  62,  64,  68,  70,  73,  74,  97, 

100.  103,  110,  111.  190,  210,  239.  255, 

270,  276,  318,  339,  341,  356,  368,  384, 

401,  402,  408,  412,  455,  483,  484,  485, 

498,  500,  503,  505 

^,  indifference  to,  in  Scotland,  303 

^.infallibility  of  the,  214 

^.institutional,  419 

^,  Jesus  Christ  and  an  organized, 

212 

^,  labor  organizations  and  the,  374 

^.Lincoln's  ideal,  4,  6,  92 

^,  medieval,  357 

Church  membership,  46 

as  acceptance  of  a  creed,  321 

,  gain  in,  225 

Church,  Methodist,  197,  349 

methods,  formality  of,  135,  138 

^.mission  of  the,  39,  211,  213 

^,  needs  of  the,  195 

^,New    Testament    the    admitted 

standard  of  the,  382 

of  authority,  62 

of  England,  133,  145,  197,  255, 

349,  493 

of  God,  61 

of  Jesus  Christ,  13,  21,  24,  400 

of  the  New  Testament,  206 

of  Rome.  20,  214,  349,  409 

of  Scotland,  302,  404 

of  the  New  Testament,  206 

of  the  people,  62 

of  to-day  and  doctrines,  227 

on  trial.  505 

^.organized,  and  Jesus  Christ,  212 

^.partial,  212,  214 

i  perpetuity  and  extension  of  the, 


-progressing.  385 
-.purpose  of  the,  80,  81,  82 
-,  readjustment  of  the,  5C^ 
-.  regenerating,  463 
-.revolt  against  the,  272 
-services  long  and  tedious,  255 


INDEX 


Church,  significance  of,  299,  345 

standards,  349 

,  success  of  the  Christian,  60 

the  body  of  Christ,  136,  143 

^,the  ideal,  466,  467 

the  life  of  the  world,  243 

the  school  of  Christ,  150 

to-day,  weakness  of  the,  228 

^,  toleration  in  the,  11 

union,  work  basis  of,  442 

^  unity,  13,  14,  158,  202,  216,  226 

unity,  true  bond  of,  129 

,  unreality  in  life  of  the,  192 

^,what  ails  the,  408 

^,  inteUectual  attitude  of  the,  199 

^,  liberal,  83 

of  the  Reformation,  4 

^,  orthodox,  83 

y  utilization  of,  450 

Churchgoing,  notes  on,  424-428 

^,  reasons  for,  454 

Civilization,  new  social,  369,  370 

of  the  Middle  Ages,  355 

Clark,  F.  W.,  424 

Clark,  H.  W.,  165 

Clergy,  tests  for  the,  36,  39,  40,  150, 
191,  293,  302,  333,  334,  351 

Clerical  tests  in  Geneva  and  Neuen- 
burg,  prohibition  of,  336 

Clericalism,  500 

Coffin,   H.  S.,   17 

Common  sense,  church  founded  on,  242 

Communion  with  God,  272 

Comparative  religion,  374 

Comprehension  without  compromise, 
15 

Compromise,  comprehension  without, 
15 

Concord,  Formula  of,  336,  520,  521 

Conditions  for  the  clergy,  36,  39,  40, 
150,  191,  293,  302,  333,  334,  351 

Conditions  of  membership,  6,  23,  24, 
36,  55,  107,  109,  150,  160,  162,  165, 
166,  167,  172,  179,  195,  222,  224,  227, 
234,  241,  315,  320,  323,  341,  363,  371, 
372,  376,  379,  380,  381,  383,  384,  404, 
459,  460,  467,  496,  503,  533-553 

,  Baptist,  533 

y  Christian  Reformed  Church,  533, 

534 

^,  Congregationalist,  534 

^.General  Church  of  the  New  Je- 
rusalem, 536,  537 

^,Mennonite,  537 

^,  Methodist  Episcopal,  537-539 

^.Presbyterian  Church,  U.  S.  A., 

34,  36,  360,  364,  384,  539,  540 

~^,  Protestant  Episcopal,  541 


Conditions    of    membership,    Quaker, 

535,  536. 
y  Reform  Church  of  the  Oratory, 

Paris,  156,  541,  542 
,  Reformed    (Dutch),    U.    S.    A., 

542,  543 
y  Reformed     (CJerman),     U.     S., 

543-545 

,  Seventh-Day  Adventist,  545 

,  United  Presbyterian,  545,  546 

,  Universalist,  546 

Confession,  Augsburg,  208,  519,  520 

,  Belgic,  240,  521,  522 

of  Christian  faith,  188,  189 

of  faith,  purpose  of,  187 

of  Waterland,  525 

Confessions,  38 

y  post-Reformation,  519-530 

y  Reformed,  521-524 

Confirmation,  children's  vow  at,  333 
Conformity,  enmity  bred  by  striving 

for,  106 
Confusion  of  thought,  68,  69 
Congregationalist  conditions  of  mem- 
bership, 137,  384,  534 
Congregationalists,  36 
Congress    of    Religions    of    Chicago, 

307,  374 
Conscience,  470 

and  creed,  156 

Consciousness,  religious,  346 
Consecration  to  Christ,  12 
Constantinopolitan    creed.      See    Ni- 

cene-Constantinopolitan   Creed 
Constitution  of  creeds,  494 
Contention,  dread  of,  192 
Contents  of  creeds,  147,  436 
Contents  of  the  gospel,  102 
Constitution  of  Christianity,  395 

of  the  Church,  9 

Conversion,  225 
Coulter,  J.  M.,  178 
Council,  ecclesiastical,  36 

of  Chalcedon,  10,  254 

Covenant,  494,  496 

as    basis    of    church    fellowship, 

129,  225 
of  Central  Congregational  Church, 

Boston,  130 

or  creed,  488 

Cranmer,  T.,  524 

Crannell,  P.  W.,  22 

Creed,  abandonment  of,  241,  242 

and  conscience,  156 

and  faith,  248 

and  modem  thought,  298 

and  Scripture,  253 

and  sectarianism,  322 


[558] 


INDEX 


Creed  and  superstition,  174 

and  the  Church,  304,  331 

and  the  gospel,  247 

and  the  laity,  292 

r and  theology,  symposium  on,  278 

^,Arian,  182 

^,  baptismal,  10 

,  Christian,  4,  8,  32 

^,  Christological,  352 

^,  church   membership   as   accept- 
ance of  a,  321 
——,  conscience  and,  156 

^,  contents   of,   489 

— — ,  demand  for  a  common,  316 

,  development  of  the  Christian,  118 

^,  essentials  of  a,  76,  77 

y  ethical,  lacking,  399 

—  for  a  church,  what  should  con- 
stitute a,  147 

for  our  time,  141 

^.historic,  33,  322 

f  importance  of  a,  123 

^,  maximum,  33 

f  meaning  of  a,  352 

^.medievalism  in,  300 

^,  minimum,  167,  168,  169 

——,  modem  thought  and  the,  £98 

,  necessity  of  a,  49,  50,  56 

of  St.  Athanasius,  118,  350,  358, 

396,  514-518 

—  or  covenant,  488 

,  Plymouth  Church,  128 

revision,  366,  498 

^.simple,  249,  297,  300 

subscription,  42,  66,  72,  75,  200, 

271,  302,  356,  401,  495,  503 

,  Unitarian,  ineflFective,  418 

f  universal,  impossible,  429 

^,  vagueness  of,  31 

,  a  working,  20,  57 

Creed-making  by  elimination,  101,356 

Creeds,  22,  25,  151 

and  membership,  22,  34,  148 

and  metaphysics,  204,  495 

and   the  Church,   174,  227,  304, 

331,  472 

and  the  ministry,  36,  39,  40,  150, 

191,  293,  302,  333,  334,  351 

and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 

396 

— ^and  theology,  493 

and  young  people,  322,  432 

as     conserving     and     educative 

forces,  220 

as  restraints  upon  personal  free- 
dom, 182,  215 

——as  tests  of  church  membership, 
22,  34,  148 


Creeds  as  theological  traditions,  201 

authoritative,  493 

^,  contents  of,  147,  436 

,  defects  of,  478,  484 

^,  ecumenical,  511-518 

f  elaborate,  not  necessary,  59,  66, 

137,  148,  165,  190,  271,  272,  278,  292, 
302,  340,  341,  360,  364,  380,  413 

^.flexibility  in,  132 

^.historic,  non-scientific  basis  of, 

494 

f  ignorance  of,  402 

in  Europe,  adherence  to,  336 

in  history,  220 

^.intellectual  acceptance  of,  166 

interpretations  of  experience,  496 

lacking  in  emphasis,  356 

^,life  in,  132 

^,  limitations  of,  151 

^,  medievalism  in,  300 

,  metaphysical,  397 

^,  misunderstanding  of,  296 

necessary,  37 

not  ecumenical,  496 

of  the  Church  and  modem  re- 
quirements, 326 

,  origin  of,  181,  327,  331,  365 

^,  over-emphasis  upon,  321 

plastic,  494 

,  post-Reformation,  519-530 

^,  purpose  of,  147,  299 

,  restatement  of,  497 

^,  significance  of,  493 

,  simplification  of,  74,  77,  105,  202, 

348,  413 

^,  simplified,  and  adjusted  theolo- 
gies, 22 

transitional,  496 

,  tyranny  of,  391,  392 

unnecessary,  431,  432 

^.use  of,  36,  365,  366 

^.validity  of,  494 

^.values  of,  151 

.weakness  of,  313 

Crisis,  great  spiritual,  182 

Criticism,  biblical,  36,  50 

^.literary,  and  biblical  revelation, 

87 

Criticisms  of  the  Church,  60 

Cross,  G.,  181 

Cross  the  offense  of  Christianity,  112 


Darwin,  98 

Davenport,  C.  B.,  429 
Davenport,  Professor,  409 
Dawson,  G.  E.,  431 
Dawson,  W.  J.,  190 


[559] 


INDEX 


Death  of  Jesus  Christ,  353 
Declaration  of  Principles  of  Paris,  307 

,  Savoy,  525 

Declaratory  Acts,  302,  366 

Deistic  theology,  142 

Deity  of  Jesus  Christ,  4,  25,  26,  29,  73, 

80,   118,  342 
Denney,  J.,  194,  249 
Denominationalism,  154,  318 
Development  in  the  Christian  creed, 

118 
Devotion,  variety  of  Christian,  104 
Discipleship,  avowal  of,  263 

,  basis  of  Christian,  398 

^,  intelligent,  24 

Dissatisfaction  with  Church,  417 

Diversions,  multiform,  53 

Doctrinal  tests  for  membership,  160, 

459 
Doctrine,  Christianity  as,  499 

,  meaning  of,  292 

of  election,  406 

of  God,  fundamental,  25 

of  renunciation,  238 

,  soundness  of,  197 

Doctrines  and  the  Church  of  to-day, 

227 

^,  Christian,  36,  38 

,  fundamental,  25,  26,  304 

of  grace,  39 

must  be  sound,  113 

,  obnoxious,  498 

Dogma  and  religion,  332 

and  theology,  280,  301 

^.definition  of,  328 

of  Jesus  Christ,  329 

1  superabundant,  256 

Dogmas,  antiquated,  339 

Dorner,  A.  J.,  210 

Dort,  Canons  of,  522,  523 

Doubt,  68 

Doughty's  Arabia  Deserta,  310 

Duckworth,  Sir  D.,  28 

Dukinfield,  H.  J.,  141 

Duties  of  Church,  389,  402,  427,  462 

Duty,  preference  of  pleasure  to,  47, 

138 
Dynamic  in  Jesus  Christ,  174, 175, 176 


Easter  faith,  353 
E^a  de  Queiros,  377 
Ecclesiastical  authority,  444 

authority  and  science,  425,  426 

council,  36 

Ecclesiasticism,  322 

^,  spiritual  freedom  and,  211 

Eclecticism  in  Christianity,  426 


Ecumenical  creeds,  511-518 

,  creeds  not,  496 

Education  of  emotions,  430 

Election,  doctrine  of,  406 

Eliot,  C.  W.,  83,  436 

Ellis,  H.,  439 

Emotions,  education  of,  430 

England,  Bible  in,  377,  378 

^,  Church   of,    133,   145,    197,   255, 

349,  493 
Environment,  429 
Epictetus,  310 
Episcopal    Articles,    Protestant,   200, 

624,  525 
Errancy  of  theology  possible,  95 
Estrangement  from  the  Church,  201, 

215,  374 
Ethical  creed  lacking,  399 

culture  inadequate,  67 

development,  65 

inhibitors,  480 

law,  7 

life,  212 

readjustment,  65 

summary,  6,  7 

Ethics,  470 

and  religion,  387 

and  theology,  410 

Eucken,  R.  C,  xx,  69,  114 
Europe,  adherence  to  creeds  in,  336 

1  Church  in,  333,  334 

Evangelical  Alliance,  basis  of  fellow- 
ship of  the,  373 

churches  most  successful,  74,385 

ideal,  primitive,  410 

Lutheran  ritual  of  baptism,  534, 

535 
Evangelicals,  350 

Evangelism  and  traditionalism,  393 
Evangelization,  world,  325 
Evans,  M.  G.,  219 
Evolution,  87,  142,  288,  301,  497 

and  theology,  287 

Evolutionary    character    of    all    life, 

184 
Exegesis  of  Scriptures,  494 
Experience,   173,   216,  219,  235,  292, 

317,  369 

and  revelation,  445 

and  theology,  160,  469,  488,  499 

^.Christian,  160,  239,  248 

^,  creeds  interpretations  of,  496 

fundamental,  496 

,  personal,  225,  300 

^.religion  a  universal  himian,  607 

f  religious,  23 

,  religious,  philosophy  and,  318 

,  religious,  types  of,  460 


[560] 


INDEX 


Experiences,  need  of  restating  Chris- 
tian, 220 


Faith,  33,  37,  42,  57,  76,  96,  97 

and  Christalogy,  207 

and  creed,  248 

and  knowledge,  205 

and  science,  100,  403 

and  theology,  76 

f  authority  of  traditional  tests  of, 

183 

,  Christian,  29,  30,  75,  94 

.confession  of  Christian,  188,189 

1  consensus  of,  77 

,  declaration  of,  36 

.decline  of,  53,  155 

^.essentials  of  Christian,  168 

^.experiential  basis  of,  279 

,  formulas  of,  origin  of,  327 

in  God,  238 

in  Jesus  Christ,  194,  195 

^,  justification  by,  325 

,  a  new  confession  of.  181 

.  New  Testament  basis  of,  253 

.  objective  bases  of.  281 

of  the  Church,  change  in  the  ex- 
pression of,  269 

^,  power  of  Christian,  292 

,  purpose  of  confession  of,  187 

,  religious,  98 

1  revitalized,  33 

^.  scope  of  Christian,  98,  105 

,  soundness  of,  197 

.the  Easter,  353 

Fall,  the,  78 

Fatherhood  of  God,  351,  396 

Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ,  249,  458 

Fellowship,  35,  152 

.basis  of,  41 

,  covenant  as  basis  for  church,  129, 

225 

of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  ba- 
sis of,  373 

^.religious,  345,  346 

^,  value  of,  337 

with  God,  89 

Fichte,  213 

First   Congregational   Church,   Terre 
Haute.  124 

Fisher.  Irving.  222 

Fisk,  George  Walter,  224 

Five    Articles    of    Arminianism,    522, 
523,  525 

Forms  for  reception  of  members,  533- 
553 

Formula,  Mennonite,  335,  525 


Formula,  Nassau,  335 

of  Concord,  336,  520,  521 

of  Zurich.  335 

to  unite  the  laity,  354 

France.  Reformed  Churches  of,  306 

Frazer,  Campbell,  98 

Freedom,   creeds   as   restraints   upon 

personal,  182 
^.intellectual,   196,  200,   208,  215, 

244 

^.spirit  of,  358 

f  spiritual,  and  ecclesiasticism,  211 

French  Revolution,  369 

Friends'    conditions    of    membership, 

535,  536 
Friendship  of  Jesus  Christ.  262 
Fimction   of  metaphysics,   280 
Functions  of  religion.  430 
of  the  Church,  346,  421,  422,  439, 

443,  462fF,  492 
Fimdamental  principles,  68 
Future  life,  25,  89 


Galton,  Sir  F.,  222 

General   Church   of   New   Jerusalem, 

conditions   of  membership   in,  536, 

537 
Geneva,  National  Protestant  Church 

of,  307 
.prohibition  of  clerical  tests  in, 

336 
Genius  many-sided,  102 
German  rationalism.  4 

Reformation.  369 

Germany  and  State  churches,  215 

^.Lutheran  Church  in,  78,  232 

Gilbert,  G.  H.,  227 
God,  3,  170,  218,  317 

,  Church  of.  61 

.  communi(Mi  with.  16.  272 

^.fatherhood  of,  351,  396 

.  fellowship  with.  89 

in  Jesus  Christ,  33 

,  incognizability  of.  217 

^.interpretation  of,  441 

is  love,  3,  20 

^.kingdom   of,  21,   136,   218,  351, 

395 

.  knowledge  of,  217 

^.love  of,  4,  16,  42 

^.personality  of,  7,  26,  32 

f  reality  of,  7 

^.redemptive  acts  of,  115 

.  root  doctrines  of,  25 

,  son  of,  4,  8,  20,  25,  29,  32,  35, 

36,  37,  41,  42,  112,  119 
^.sovereignty  of,  304,  305 


[561] 


INDEX 


God,  the  supreme  certainty,  289 
,  triune,  144 

—  unchanged,  236 

,  unity  of,  7 

Gospel,  81,  246,  351,  352 

and  creed,  247 

and  nature,  247 

,  barren,  82 

^  contents  of  the,  102 

,  ministers  of  the,  35 

—  of  hope,  257 

—  of  salvation,  21 

—,  supernatural   character   of   the, 

42 
Gould,  G.  M.,  229 
Grace,  doctrines  of,  39 

^,  means  of,  144 

Green,  T.  H.,  290 
Gregory,  C.  R.,  232 
Griffis,  W.  E.,  234 
Griffith-Jones,  E.,  31 
Gmlt,  40 
Gunnison,  A.,  241 


Haering,  T.,  243 

Hall,  G.  S.,  441 

Hamburg  ministerial  obligation,  535 

Hamilton,  E.  J.,  34 

,  Sir  W.,  370 

Hanus,  P.  H.,  443 

Harnack,  A.,  246,  350,  351,  388 

Hegel,  456 

Heidelberg  Catechism,  522 

Hell,  terror  of,  357 

Hendrix,  E.  R.,  249 

Henson,  H.  H.,  251 

Heresy,  446 

Hermeneutics,  494 

High-church  party,  350 

HiU,  J.  A.,  255 

Hillis,  N.  D.,  259 

History,  Christian,  187 

^,  Christian  institutions  in,  220 

—,  creeds  in,  220 

^,New  Testament  in,  220 

Holiness  and  sin,  99 
Holland,  Bible  in,  377,  378 
—,  preaching  in,  378 
HoUand,  H.  S.,  44 
Holmes,  J.  H.,  444 
Holy  Catholic  Church,  132 

Spirit,  8,  11,  25,  30,  39,  53,  74, 

132,  143,  144,  317 
Home  life,  abolition  of,  55 
Hope,  gospel  of,  257 
Horsley,  J.  W.,  47 
Himian  nature,  weakness  of,  11 


Human  soul,  value  of  the,  351 

values  and  theology,  506 

Humanitarianism  in  Christology,  78 
Humanity,  service  of,  239 
Hunt,  Theodore  Whitefield,  52 
Hyperclerical  ministers,  420 


Ideal,  Christian,  12,  186 

church,  466,  467 

of  poetry,  283 

of  religion,  216,  217 

^,  primitive  evangelical,  410 

i  sacramental,  357 

Ideals  of  the  Church,  63,  427,  505, 
506 

Immortality  of  the  soul,  57 

Inadequacy  of  accepted  standards,  182 

Incarnation,   10,   119 

Indifference  to  moral  and  social  rela- 
tions, 65 

to  sin,  110,  111 

to  the  claims  of  the  Church,  18, 

47,  48,  52,  58,  59,  60,  G^,  64,  68,  70, 
73,  74,  97,  100,  103,  110,  111,  190, 
210,  232,  255,  270,  276,  318,  339,  341, 
356,  368,  384,  401,  402,  408,  412,  455, 
483,  484,  485,  498,  500,  503,  505 

Individual  Christianity,  343 

Individual,  the,  477 

Individualism,  anarchy  of,  299 

^,  exaggerated,  409 

in  Protestantism,  212,  306,  318 

philosophy,  369,  370 

-.theory  of  life,  368 

Individuals,  intellectual  attitude  Of, 
199 

Industrial  revolution,  369 

Infallibility,  359 

of  the  Church,  214 

of  theology,  491,  507 

Infallible  pope,  444 

Infidelity,  446 

Influence  of  Unitarianism,  438 

Inhibitors,  ethical,  430 

"Inner  Ught,"  525,  535 

and  Quakers,  445 

Inspiration,  449 

of  the  Bible,  9,  25,  348 

Institutional  Christianity,  369 

church,  419 

Intellectual  acceptance  of  creeds,  166 

attitude  of  churches,  199 

attitude  of  individuals,  199 

conviction  and  spiritual  growth, 

167 

freedom,  196,  200,  208,  215,  244 

Intellectualism  and  Christianity,  499 


[562] 


INDEX 


Intelligence,  growth  of,  183 
Inter-church   Federation    CJonference, 

International  Unitarian  Congress,  307 
Intolerance,  106 


James,  William,  69,  98 
Jesus  Christ,  4,  7,  16,  25,  28,  32,  35, 
42,  72,  91,  164,  219 

and  an  organized  church,  212 
and  Christianity,  279,  342,  397 

—  and  Pharisees,  465 
and  philosophy,  220 

and  religion,  179 

and  speculation,  179 
— ,  appeal  of,  319 

—  as  doer,  68 

—  as  historic  energy,  68 

as  life,  171,  176 

as  a  life-dynamic,  173,  174,  175, 

176 
— ^as  Saviour,  8,  17,  29,  35,  36,  37, 

40,  41,  42,  73,  81,  108,  323 

^,  belief  in,  8 

y  centrality  of,  503 

—,  Christian  attitude  to,  205,  206, 

220 
—,  Christianity  of,  social,  370 

^,  Church  of,  13,  21,  24,  400 

^.Church  the  body  of,  136,  143 

— — -,  Church  the  school  of,  150 

^.claims  of,  194,  311 

-^—,  consecration  to,  12 
,  creative  life  in,  177 

,  death  of,  352 

^,  deity  of,  4,  25,  26,  29,  73,  80, 

118,  342 

^,  dogma  of,  329 

——,  dynamic  in,  174,  175,  176 

^.emphasis  of,  227,  238 

— ,  emphasis  upon  imion  with,  324 

,  faith  in,  194,  195 

—,  final  appeal  to,  392 

^— for  our  age  and  the  ages,  234 

— ,  friendship  of,  262 

^,God  in,  33 

-—,  imitation  of,  49 

—  in  the  Koran,  8 

^.liberty  of,  393 

—,  lordship  of,  25 

,  love  of,  18,  49 

,  loyalty  to,  239,  260,  320,  322,  371, 

381,  382,  395 
— ^,  message  of,  99 

f  method  of,  461 

—-,  mission  of,  171 
—,  necessity  of,  314 

[563] 


Jesus  Christ,  New  Testament,  88 

^.personality  of,  157 

,  place  of,   196 

,  redemptive  relation  of,  279 

^.religion  without,  inadequate,  67 

,  second  advent  of,  495 

,  spiritual  gravitation  to,  71,  72 

,  teachings  of,  10,  267,  351,  369, 

379 

the  "poor  man's  friend,"  276 

^,  theology  taught  by,  85,  86 

,  words  of,  85 

1  work  of,  157 

Jesus  or  Christ,  252,  253 
Jewett,  Dr.,  124 
Johnston,  H.  H.,  447 
Jordan,  David  Starr,  267 
Judgment,  final,  57 
Justice,  136 

,  men  and  women  desire^  275 

Justification,  78 
by  faith,  325 


Kaftan,  281 

Kahnis,  Professor,  83 

Kepler,  285 

King,  H.  C,  268 

King,  I.,  452 

Kingdom  of  God,  21,  136,  218,  351, 
395 

Knowledge  and  science,  257 

f  Church  as  guardian  of  free,  213 

continuous,  progress  of,  317 

,  faith  and,  205 

,  growth  of  secular,  184 

^,  modern,  and  traditional  theolo- 
gy, 251 

of  God,  217 

of  nature,  97 

y  progress  of,  317,  448 

Koran,  recognition  of  Christ  in  the,  8 

Kuenen,  Professor,  83 


Labor  organizations  and  the  Church, 

374 
Laboring  classes,  attitude  of  the,  to 

the  Church,  275 
Ladd,  G.  T.,  270 
Laity  and  the  creed,  292 

i  cooperative  Christian,  57 

,  duty  of  the,  336-338 

1  formula  to  unite  the,  354 

Laotze,  310 

Latter      Day      Saints,      Reorganized 

Church  of.  Epitome  of,  526-528 
Law,  ethical,  7 


INDEX 


Law,  principles  of  the,  311 

,  sovereignty  of,  184 

^.supreme,  of  Christian  morality, 

243 

^,the,  25,  45,  67,  71,  81,  94,  156, 

238 

Layman  as  a  pragmatist,  256 

,  the  creed  and  the,  292 

Leadership,  need  of,  62 

Lectionary,  the,  134 

Legalistic  use  of  the  Bible,  184 

Leibnitz,  286 

Leuba,  J.  H.,  455 

Leyden  University,  83 

Liberal  churches,  83 

Protestant   Church  of   Brussels, 

307 

Liberty,  136 

in  research,  389 

of  Jesus  Christ,  393 

of  the  single  soul,  25 

of  thought,  306 

Life  and  religion,  61,  267 

^,  ethical,  212 

^,  evolutionary  character  of,  184 

f  fulness  of,  255 

in  creeds,  132 

^,  individu€ilistic  theory  of,  368 

,  Jesus  Christ  as,  171,  176 

f  mystery  of,  231 

^,need  of,  132,  135,  136 

of  the  world.  Church  the,  242 

^,  religious,  philosophy  of,  434 

^,  spiritual,   132 

Lincoln  curiously  astray,  170,  292 

referring  only  to  the  law,  81,  91 

Lincoln's  example,  hamfulness  of, 
386 

experience  typical,  243 

ideal  church,  4,  5,  92 

reason  for  making  his  reserva- 
tion, 215 

Lincoln's  statement,  adequacy  of,  17, 
107,  108,  141,  146,  222,  311,  375, 
433,  437,  447,  486 

controversial,  92,  112,  295,  332 

^,  inadequacy  of,  5,  15,  24,  28,  31, 

44,  48,  59,  67,  73,  81,  91,  101,  111, 
160,  244,  278,  294,  307,  314,  326,  327, 
342,  364,  372,  385,  413,  417,  485,  486 

Lindsay,  J.,  278 

Literalism,  blind,  299 

Literary  certainties,  283 

Literature,  163 

and  theology,  283,  387 

Ix)dge,  Sir  O.,  Ill,  285,  286,  350 

Logic,  principles  of,  100 

Loisy,  81 


Loofs,  F.  A.,  291 
Lord's  creed,  375 

Prayer,  304,  337,  375,  486 

Supper,  9,  320,  321,  324,  325,  349 

Supper,  fear  of,  406 

Love,  119,  120,  170,  239 

,  Christian  principle  of,  7 

^,  Christlike,  7 

,  God  is,  3,  20 

^,law  of,  45 

of  enemies,  7 

of  God,  4,  16,  42 

of  Jesus  Christ,  18,  49 

of  man,  62 

of  neighbor,  5,  71,  89,  93,  119, 

228,  241,  295 

,  self-sacrificing,  7 

^,test  of,  49 

to  God,  5,  71,  241,  295 

Loyalty  to  Christianity,  314 

to  Jesus  Christ,  239,  260,  320,  323, 

371,  381,  382,  395 
Lubbock,  Sir  J.,  145 
Lutheran  Church,  349 
in  Germany,  78,  232 


Macfarland,  C.  S.,  458 

Mackenzie,  J.  S.,  294 

Maclaren,  Ian,  391 

Man  a  social  being,  345 

Markham,  E.,  472 

Martineau,  287 

Material  interests,  273 

Materialism,  74 

,  utilitarianism  not,  257 

Materialistic  age,  64,  68,  273 

Matheson,  G.,  288 

Matter  and  spirit,  230,  273 

,  insistence  of,  311 

McClure,  J.  G.  K.,  297 

McComb,  S.,  298 

McTaggart,  J.  M.  E.,  113 

Means  of  grace,  144 

Mechanics,   spiritual,    65 

Medieval  church,  357 

Medievalism  in  creed,  300 

Members,  forms  for  reception  of,  533- 
553 

^,why  intelligent  men  do  not  be- 
come church,  190 

Membership  and  creeds,  22,  34,  148 

and  righteousness,  210 

^j  Christian   purpose   as  bond   of, 

128 

^,  church,  46 

1  church,  as  acceptance  of  a  creed, 

321 


1564>J 


INDEX 


Membership  and  Cfeeds,  complicated 
statements   hindrance  to,  31 

-^--,  conditions  of  church,  6,  18,  23, 
24,  36,  55,  107,  109,  148,  150,  160, 
162,  165,  166,  167,  172,  179,  195,  222, 
224,  227,  234,  241,  315,  320,  323,  341, 
363,  371,  372,  376,  379,  380,  381,  383, 
384,  404,  459,  460,  467,  496,  503, 
533-553 

for  young  people,  terms  of,  323 

,  Friends    conditions  of,  535,  536 

,  gain  in  church,  225 

in  Christ,  46 

in   Congregational   Church,   137, 

384,534 

in   Christian   Reformed   Church, 

533,  534 

—  pledge,  295 

,  Plymouth  Church,  128 

,  religious  feeling  and  life  as  tests 

of,  363 

- — ^,  spiritual   life  necessary   for,   25 

Mennonite  conditions  of  membership, 
537 

confession,  335,  52* 

Menzies,   Allan,  302 

Message,  minister's,  501 

of  Jesus  Christ,  99 

Metaphysical  creeds,  397 

propositions,  204,  256 

Metaphysics  and  creeds,  204,  495 

1  function  of,  280 

1  theology  and,  489 

Method  of  Jesus,  461 

Methodist  Articles,  525 

Church,  197,  349 

Episcopal  conditions  of  member- 
ship, 537-539 

Middle  Ages,  civilization  of  thc^  355 

Milton  inspired,  449 

Minister  and  spiritual  leadership,  501 

^,lack  of  personal  appeal  of  the, 

55 

^.personal  bearing  of  the,  500 

Minister's  message,  501 

Ministers  as  teachers  of  religion,  276 

f  hyperclerical,  420 

of  the  gospel,  35 

^,  unclerical,  419,  420 

Ministry  and  creeds,  36,  39,  40,  150, 
191,  293,  302,  333,  334,  351 

Miraculous,  appeal  to  the,  427 

Mission  of  Christ,  171 

of  religion,  16 

of  the  Church,  39,  211,  218 

of  theology,  180 

Mission  work,  324 

Missionary  enterprise,  185 


Modem  spirit  in  preaching,  absence 
of  the,  191 

theology,  basis  of,  433,  434 

thought  and  the  creed,  298 

Monism,  230 

Monotheism,  307 

Monotheist,  7 

Montet,  Eduard,  306 

Moore,  Edward  Caldwell,  58 

Moral  relations,  indiflFerence  to,  65 

Morality,  Christianity  and,  314 

f  supreme  law  of  Christian,  243 

Morals,  Church  a  school  of,  262 

Moses,  8 

Mulert,  334 

Mullins,  E.  Y.,  64 

Munger,  Dr.,  288 

Mysteries,  12,  79 

of  the  Holy  Trinity,  11 

,  sacred,  150 

Mystery,  83 
of  Ufe,  231 


Narrowness  a  hindrance,  13f 

Nassau  formula,  335 

National  Protestant  Church  of  G«n- 

eva,  307 
Natural  law,  310 

religion,  3,  216,  299 

theology,  97 

Nature,  99 

and  the  gospel,  247 

^,book  of,  3 

^,  greatness  of,  68 

,  knowledge  of,  97 

^,  orderliness  of,  427 

f  scientific  conception  of,  49$ 

,  scientific  study  of,  184 

Naville,  E.,  156 

Neander,  279 

Nearing,  S.,  475 

Need  to-day,  70 

Neuenburg,     prohibition     of    clerical 

tests  in,  336 
New   Jerusalem,   General    Church    of 
the,  conditions  of  membership  in, 

536,  537 
New  Testament  basis  of  faith,  253 

Christ,  88 

,  church  of  the,  206 

in  history,  220 

simplicity,  return  to,  349 

the    admitted    standard    of    the 

Church,  382 

theology,  162 

"New  Theology,"  76,  78 
New  theology  necessary,  456 


1565  1 


INDEX 


Newman,  Cardinal,  84 
Newman,  F.  W.,  102 
Newspaper,  Sunday,  54- 
Nicene  Age,  181 
Nicene-Constantinopolitan  Creed,   10, 

81,  118,  202,  203,  205,  207,  208,  279, 

356,  486,  512,  513 
Nietzsche,  Friedrich,  94,  112,  319 
Notes  on  churchgoing,  424-428 


Oberlin  Theological  Seminary,  226 
Old  Testament,  reading  of,  134 

f  authority  of  the,  9 

,  inspiration  of  the,  9 

Optimism,  pessimism  and,  89 

Orderliness  of  nature,  427 

Origen,  102 

Origin  of  creeds,  181,  327,  331,  365 

Orr,  James,  73 

Orthodoxy,  fundamental  error  of,  292 


Pantheism,  142 

Paris,  Declaration  of  Principles  of, 
307 

^,  Reformed  Church  of  the  Ora- 
tory, membership  in,  156,  541,  642 

Partial  church,  212,  214 

Pascal,  98 

Passy,  F.,  156 

Paul,  382 

,  Christology  of,  207,  208 

Peabody,  F.  G.,  478 

Peace,  136 

Pentecost,  382 

People,  the  Church  and  the,  270 

Personal  appeal  of  minister,  lack  of, 
55 

bearing  of  the  minister,  500 

communion  with  God,  16,  272 

experience,  225,  300 

piety,  218,  238 

religion,  necessity  of,  52 

responsibility,  213 

salvation,  the  Church  and,  412 

Personality  of  Jesus  Christ,  157 

of  God,  7,  26,  32 

y  worth  of,  186 

Pessimism  and  optimism,  89 

Peter,  382 

confession  of,  381 

Petrie,  W.  M.  F.,  309 

Pharisees,  475 

and  Jesus,  465 

Philosophical  certainty,  51 

speculation,  theology  and,  178 

——tenets  variable,  329 


Philosophy,  69,  70,  163 

and  Christ,  220 

and  Christianity,  176 

and  religion,  148 

and  religious  experience,  318 

and  theology,  161,  163,  178,  286, 

300,  361,  387,  489 

,  certainties  of,  286 

individualistic,  369,  370 

^,  Jesus  Christ  and,  220 

of  religion,  70 

of  religious  life,  434 

,  unchristian,    53 

Physical  reality,  69 

Piety,  personal,  218,  238 

Pinchot,  G.,  223 

Pleasure,  pursuit  of,  30,  47,  138,  156, 

255,  375,  401,  409 
Pledge,  membership,  295 
Plunkett,  Sir  H.,  222 
Plutarch,  310 
Plymouth  Church,  form  for  reception 

of  members,  534 

membership,  128 

creed,  128 

Poetry,  ideal  of,  283 

Pope,  infallible,  444 

Post-Reformation  creeds,  519-530 

Poverty,  156 

Practise  and  precept,  92 

theory  and,  93 

Pragmatist,  layman  as  a,  256 
Pratt,  J.  B.,  313 

Prayer  Book,  inadequacy  of,  133 
Prayer,  the  I^ord's,  304,  337,  375,  486 
Preaching,    absence    of    the    modern 

spirit  in,  191 

and  science,  228 

—  and   teaching   obnoxious    tenets, 

498 

in  Holland,  378 

,  present-day,  198,  228,  274 

Precept,  practise  and,  92 
Predestination,  522,  523 
Presbyterian  Church,  35,  36,  37,  39, 

197,  297,  349,  360,  384 

of  Scotland,  366 

i  U.  S.  A.,  conditions  of  member- 
ship in,  34,  36,  360,  364,  384,  539, 

540 
Present-day  demands,  85 
Principles,    fundamental,   68 

of  the  law,  311 

Prodigal  Son,  parable  of  the,  48,  379 
Progress,  118 

of  knowledge,  317,  448 

of  the  universe,  143 

Progressive  revelation,  4,  32,  402,  445 


l5QQ-\ 


INDEX 


Protestant    Episcopal    Articles,    524, 

525 
— ■■ — conditions  of  membership,  541 
Protestant  free  thought,  306 

theology,  117 

Protestantism,  214,  217 

,  basic  principle  of,  348 

.development  of,  117 

.individualism  in,  212,  306,  318 

Protestants,  religion  of,  395 
Psalter,  the,  134 
Psychology  of  theism,  281 
Public  reading  of  the  Bible,  134 
Purpose,  Christianity  as,  499 
^,  sincerity  of,  263 


Quaker,  admission  of  a,  127 
Quakers,  197 

and  "inner  light,"  445 

Quakers*   conditions   of   membership, 
535,  536 


Radicalism,  unhistorical,  293 

Rationalism,  German,  4 

Rauschenbusch,  W.,  315 

Reality,  68,  69 

Reason  and  religion,  179 

and  revelation,  87 

Reception  of  members,  forms  for, 
533-553 

Redemption  of  society,  276,  342,  356 

Redemptive  acts  of  God,  115 

relation  of  Jesus  Christ,  279 

Reform  Church  of  the  Oratory,  Paris. 
membersUp  in,  156,  541,  542 

Reformation,  churches  of  the,  4 

^.German,   369 

of  Christianity  needed,  235 

,  second,  394 

,the,  181,  325,  329,  331,  365 

Reformed  Church,  384 

Churches  of  France,  306 

confessions,  521-524 

(Dutch)     Church    in     America, 

conditions  of  membership  in,  542, 
543 

(German)  Church,  U.  S.,  condi- 
tions of  membership  in,  543-545 

Regenerating  Church,  463 

Regeneration,  11,  25,  26 

Religion,  70,  98,  231 

a  science,  120,  497 

a  universal  human  experience,  507 

,  abstract,  87 

,  aim  of,  185 

and  clean  and  right  living,  267 

[567] 


Religion  and  dogma,  332 

and  ethics,  387 

and  Jesus  Christ,  179 

and  life,  61 

and  philosophy,  148 

and  reason,  179 

and  science,  71,  120,  148,  168,  169, 

222,  223,  229,  235,  426if,  445,  455 

and  social  co-operation,  154 

and  social  service,  314 

and  the  Church,  180,  257,  258 

and  the  supernatural,  83 

and  theology,  98,  469 

,  Christianity  the  final,  375 

^.comparative,  374 

^,  crisis  in,  298 

defined,  178 

^,  failure  of,  62,  303 

,  functions  of,  430 

^,  ideal  of,  216,  217 

in  terms  of  life,  61,  267 

is  wanted,  135 

f  minimum,  174 

.ministers  as  teachers  of,  276 

^.mission  of,  16 

^.natural,  3,  216 

of  Protestants,  395 

of  the  future,  153 

,  personal,  necessity  of,  52 

,  philosophy  of,  70 

,  restrained  application  of,  132 

,  science  is,  120 

i  service  of,  60 

,  socializing  of,  410 

.test  of,  275,  276 

.  theology  and,  98,  469 

,  theory  of,  475 

vs.  dogmatic  theology,  178,  179 

^,  vital,  72 

,  what  it  is,  272 

without  Christ  inadequate,  67 

Religious  consciousness,  346 

experience,  23 

experience,  types  of,  460 

feeling  and  life  as  tests  of  mem- 
bership, 363 

indifference,  455.  483.  484,  485 

life,  philosophy  of,  434 

revival,  183 

sense,  weakening  of,  53 

situation,  present,  355 

terms  indefinite,  129 

tests,  standard.  182 

Remensnyder.  J.  B..  80 

Renunciation,  doctrine  of,  238 

Reorganized  Church  of  Latter  Day 
Saints.  Epitome  of,  526-528 

Repentance,  57 


.._.---««dl|t 


INDEX 


Research,  liberty  in,  389 

y  scientific,  373  ^ 

Responsibility,  personal,  213 
Restrictions,  unwillingness  to  submit 

to  ecclesiastical,  54 
Resurrection,  10,  32,  77,  119 

,  certainty  of  the,  353 

of  the  body,  495 

Revelation  and  experience,  445 
——and  reason,  87 

and  science,  87 

and  theology,  497 

f  Bible  as  progressive,  4 

y  Bible  as  a  divine,  4 

— ,  biblical,  and  literary  criticism,  87 

1  biblical,  and  science,  87 

^,  closed,  371 

in  the  Bible,  91 

—  of  divine  method,  science  a,  371 

^,  progressive,  4,  32,  402,  445 

^,  purpose  of  Christian,   185 

,  reason  and,  87 

Revision  and  theology,  95 

^,  creed,  498 

^,duty  of  creed,  366 

,  implications  of,  252,  359 

Revival  of  Christianity,  394 

,  religious,  183 

Revivals,  460 
Revolution,  French,  369 

^,  industrial,  369 

Righteousness,  211,  212 

f  higher,  351 

^.kingdom  of,  89,  90 

,  membership  and,  210 

Ritual,  defects  of,  449 

Ritualism,  425 

Robertson,  A.  T.,  316 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  20,  214,  349, 

409 

minimum  creed,  117 

Roman  text  of  Apostles*  Creed,  512 
Rothe,  R.,  210 
Rousseau,  369 
RusseU,  R.  McW.,  320 


Sabbatarianism,  decay  of,  138 
Sacramental  ideal,  357 
Sacraments,  144,  213 
Sacred  and  the  secular,  89 

mysteries,  150 

Sacrifices,  352 
Salvation,  21,  39,  357 

,  Christianity  and.  111 

y  gospel  of,  21 

of  the  world,  342 

,  the  Church  and  personal,  412 


Saviour,  Jesus  Christ  as,  8,   17,  29, 

35,  36,  37,  40,  41,  42,  73,  81,  108, 

323 
Savoy  Declaration,  525 
SchiUer,  Professor,  69 
Schmiedel,  P.  W.,  326 
Science,  50,  69,  70,  97,  163,  231 
a    revelation    of   divine   method, 

371 

agnostic,  142 

y  aim    of,    185 

and  biblical  revelation,  87 

and  Christianity,  176,  434 

and  ecclesiastical  authority,  425, 

426 

and  faith,  100,  403 

and  knowledge,  257 

and  preaching,  228 

and    religion,   71,   120,   148,   168, 

169,  222,  223,  229,  235,  426ff,  445, 

455 

and  revelation,  87 

and  the  Apostles*  Creed,  497 

and  the  Church,  215,  373 

and  theology,  99,  115,  138,  140, 

161,  237,  244,  267,  282,  285,  287,  288, 

300,   307,   308,    315,   361,   362,   370, 

387,  388,  457,  497,  506,  507 

^,  certainties  of,  284 

y  claims  of,  497 

constantly  changing,  114 

is  religion,  120 

,  misunderstanding  of  modem,  97 

of  right  living,  262 

^,  religion  a,  120 

y  restatement  of,  497 

^,  speculations  of,  13 

,  uncertainty  of,  50,  74 

y  unchristian,  53 

^,  value  of,  257 

Scientific  attitude,  99 

conception  of  nature  495 

research,  373 

spirit,  153 

study  of  nature,  184 

theories,  mutability  of,  288 

Scotland,  indifference  to  the  Church 

in,  303 

y  Church  of,  302,  404 

y  Presbyterian  Church  of,  366 

,  United  Free  Church  of,  364 

Scripture  and  the  creed,  253 

and  theology,  254 

y  verbal  inspiration  of,  348 

Scriptures,  interpretation  of,  378 

^,  exegesis  of,  494 

Sectarianism  and  the  creed,  322 
Secular  knowledge,  growth  of,  184 


[568] 


INDEX 


Secular  knowledge,  organizations  for 

human  welfare,  355 

sacred  and  the,  89 

Secularism  and  Christianity,  499 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  395,  396,  399 
Sermons,  defective,  453 

^,  Church  and,  180 

of  humanity,  239 

of  religion,  60 

^,the  Church's  ideal,  505,  506 

Services,    long    and    tedious    Church, 

355 
Seventh-Day  Adventist  conditions  of 

membership,  545 
Shaler,  Professor,  222 
Shakespeare  inspired,  449 
Sheldon,  C.  M.,  340 
Sheldon,  H.  C,  85 
Siebeck,  H.,  345 
Simplicity,  New  Testament,  return  to, 

349 
Simplification  of  creeds,  74,  77,  105, 

202,  348,  413 
Simplified   creeds  and   adjusted   the- 
ologies, 22 
Sin,  168 

and  holiness,  99 

as  cause  of  indifference,  318,  319 

^  forgiveness  of,  3,  40,  398 

^,weak  sense  of,  110,  111 

Sincerity  of  purpose,  263 

Sinclair,  W.  M.,  348 

Sinners,  Christianity  only  for,  110 

Smith,  G.  B.,  355 

Snowden,  J.  H.,  360 

Soares,  T.  G.,  362 

Social  being,  man  a,  345 

Social  Christianity,  371 

of  Jesus  Christ,  370 

clearing  house,  church  a,  443 

Social  co-operation,  religion  and,  154 

ideal,  89 

—  injustice,  indifference  to,  409 
^—  interpretaticm     of     Christianity, 

369,  370 

life,  church  and  the,  472,  473 

^,new  civilization,  369,  370 

relations,  indifference  to,  65 

religion,  473,  476,  477 

Social  service,  272,  502 

and  Christianity,  499 

and  religion,  314 

and  the  Church,  503 

and  the  State,  502 

Social   spirit,   new,   369,  370 

wrongs,  the  Church  and,  274 

Socialism,  Christian,  371 


Socializing  of  religion,  410 

Society  of  Friends.     See  Quakers. 

,  redemption  of,  276,  342,  356 

,  the  Church  as  a  friendly,  48 

Son  of  God,  4,  8,  20,  25,  29,  32,  35, 
36,  37,  41,  42,  112,  119 

Soul,  immortality  of  the,  57 

Southern  Presbyterian — United  Pres- 
byterian formula  of  union,  528-530 

Speculation  and  Jesus  Christ,  179 

,  theology   and   philosophical,   178 

Speculations  of  science,  13 

Speculative   theology,   443 

Spirit  and  matter,  230,  273 

^,  Christian,  106 

^.Holy,  8,  11,  25,  30,  39,  53,  74, 

132,  143,  144,  317 

of  the  age,  273 

Spiritual  crises,  n'eat,  182 

diagnosis,  ifl 

freedom  and  ecclesiasticism,  211 

gravitation  to  Christ,  71,  72 

growth,     intellectual     conviction 

and,  167 

interpretation  of  the  world,  68 

leadership,  the  minister  and,  501 

life,  132 

life  necessary  for  membership,  25 

mechanics,  65 

—  nature  of  the  uni^rse,  304 

reality,  68,  69 

——universe,  68,  71 
Spirituality,  necessity  of,  274 
Stalker,  J.,  364 

Standard  religious  tests,  182 
Standards,    inadequacy    of    accepted, 

182 
State  and  Church,  212 

—  churches  in  Germany,  215 

,  social  service  and  the,  502 
Statutory  methods,  213 
Strauss,  D.  F.,  113 
Strong,  A.  H.,  91 
Strong,  J.,  368 
Suggested    forms    for    reception    of 

members,  549-553 
Sunday  newspaper,  54 
Sunderland,  Mr.,  75 
Supernatural  character  of  the  gospel, 

42 

of  religion,  83 

Superstition,  4,  5 

and  Christianity,  379 

,  creed  and,  174 
Sustentation  Fund,  365 
Symbol  of  Chalcedon,  513,  514 
Symposium,   object   of   the,   131 


[569] 


INDEX 


Talleyrand,  87 

Teachers  of  religion,  ministers  as, 
27(5 

Teaching  and  preaching  obnoxious 
tenets,  498 

Teachings  of  Christ,  10,  267,  351,  369, 
379 

Tennyson  inspired,  449 

Terminology,  antiquated,  339 

Terre  Haute,  First  Congregational 
Church  of,  124 

Terry,  M.  S.,  372 

Tests  for  church  membership,  6,  18, 
23,  24,  36,  55,  107,  109,  148,  150, 
160,  162,  165,  166,  167,  172,  179,  195, 
222,  224,  227,  234,  241,  315,  320,  323, 
341,  363,  371,  372,  376,  379,  380,  381, 
383,  384,  404,  459,  460,  467,  496,  503, 
533-553 

—  of  faith,  authority  of  traditional, 
183 

Text  of  Apostles'  Creed,  511,  512 

Theism,  280,  281 

i  immanent,   114 

—,  psychology  of,  281 

Theistic  theology,  88,  142,  280,  282, 
488 

Theologian,  place  of,  95 

Theologies,  simplified  creeds  and  ad- 
justed, 22 

Theology,  19,  84,  94,  149,  282 

,  a  minimum,  85 

a  science,  115,  118,  388 

^,  absolute  of,  not  static,  287 

^.advance  in,  236 

and  Christianity,  93,  94 

—  and  creeds,  493 

and  dogma,  280,  301 

^-^and  ethics,  410 

—  and  evolution,  287 

and  experience,  469,  488,  499 

and  faith,  76 

and  human  values,  506 

and  literature,  283,  387 

and  metaphysics,  489 

and  philosophical  speculation,  178 

• and  philosophy,  161, 163,  178,  286, 

300,  361,  387,  489 

and  religion,  98,  469 

■and  revelation,  497 
■and  revision,  95 
— -  and  science,  99,  115, 138,  140,  161, 

237,  244,  267,  282,  285,  287,  288,  300, 

307,  308,  315,  361,  362,  370,  387,  388, 

457,  497,  506,  507 

and  Scripture,  254 

and  the  Church,  484 

and  theism,  280 


Theology,  basis  of,  137,  157,  237,  361, 
379,  387 

^.Christian,  362 

i  Christocentric,  487 

y  contents  of,  489 

^,deistic,  142 

y  dogmatic,  vs.  religion,  178,  179 

,  eflFective,  405 

^,  errancy  of,  possible,  95 

,  final,  316 

for  our  time,  141 

^,  fundamental,  32,  269 

,  fundamental,  based  upon  Chris- 
tian experience,  160 

^,  inherited,  196,  198 

^,  inf alUbility  of,  491,  507 

,  meaning  of,  115,  301 

^,  mission  of,  180 

,  mistake  of,  97 

^,  mistrust  of,  200,  210 

i  modern,  basis  of,  433,  434 

must  be  ontological,  280 

,  natural,  97 

,  New  Testament,  162 

^,no  final,  19,  27,  358 

,  practical,  148 

f  present-day,  75,  76 

^.progress  of,  96,  139 

y  Protestant,  117 

^,  religion  vs.  dogmatic,  178,  179 

self-suflScient,  491,  497 

speculative,  443 

^,  static  or  progressive,  363,  490 

,  sum  of,  238 

1  symposium  on  creed  and,  278 

taught  by  Jesus,  85,  86 

,  theistic,  88,  142,  280,  282,  488 

,  traditional,  and  modem  knowl- 
edge, 251 

y  true,  163 

^,use  of,  149 

^,  value  of,  282 

Theoretical,  value  of  the,  86 

Theories,  mutability  of  scientific,  288 

Theory  and  practise,  93 

of  religion,  475 

Thirty-nine  Articles,  200,  524,  525 

Thought,  confusion  of,  68,  69 

1  creed  and  modern,  298 

,  dominance  of  separate  worlds  of, 

309,  310 

,  liberty  of,  306 

^,  Protestant   free,  306 

Tisdall,  W.  St.  C,  92 

Toleration  in  the  Church,  11 

Tradition,  force  of,  365 

,  tyranny  of,  393 

Traditional   Christianity,   237 


[570] 


INDEX 


Traditional  Christology,  196 

texts  of  faith,  authority  of,  183 

theology  and  modern  knowledge, 

251 
Traditionalism  and  Christianity,  499 

and  evangelism,  393 

Traditions,  creeds  as  theological,  201 
Transgression,  Adam's,  40 
Transition  period,  359 
Transitional,  creeds,  496 
Trinity,  Holy,  8,  9,  10,  29,  57,  78,  256, 

397 

,  mysteries  of  the  Holy,  11 

Triune  God,  144 
Troeltsch,  E.,  114 
Truth,  38,  69 

1  Christianity  as,  498 

—  harmonious,  all,  360 

as  a  unity,  301,  387 

f  saving,  116 

Twenty-five   Articles,  625 
Tyrrell,  G.,  153 


Unbelievers,  52 

Unclerical  ministers,  419,  420 

Uniformity,  enforced,   effect  of,   318 

not  possible,  105,  134,  188 

Union  of  churches  remote,  373 

with  Jesus  Christ,  emphasis  upon, 

324 

— ,  work  basis  of  church,  442 

Unitarian    Association,    British    and 
Foreign,  74 

-^—Congress,  International,  307 
creed  inefPective,  418 

——declaration  of  faith,  437 

,  influence  of,  438 

Unitarians,  75 

^,lack  of  ministers  and  mission- 
aries among,  75 

United  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  302, 
364 

United    Presbyterian,    conditions    of 
membership  in,  545,  546 

^  Southern  Presbylerian,   formula 

of  union,  528-530 

United  States,  growth  of  church  mem- 
bership in,  58 

Supreme  Court  on  the  Bible,  386 

Unity  of  God,  7 

^,  church,  13,  14,  158,  202,  216,226, 

373 

^,  illusion  of,  105 

of  purpose  necessary,  341 

,  symbol  of  the  Church's,  209 

^,true  bond  of  church,  129 


Unity  of  God,  variety  in,  15 
Universal  church,  basis  of  a,  216 

creed  impossible,  429 

Universalist    conditions    of   member* 

ship,  546 
Universe,  progress  of  the,  143 

,  spiritual,  68,  71 

,  spiritual  nature  of  the,  304 

Unknowable,  the,  94 

Unreality  in  life  of  the  Church,  193 

Utilitarianism  not  materialism,  257 


Value,  ultimate  standard  of,  289 
Values  of  human  life,  sum  total  of 

the,  289 
Van  der  Vlugt,  W.,  97 
Van  der  Wyck,  B.  H.  C.  K.,  377 
Van  Home,  D.,  107 
Vatican  Coimcil,  12 
Vinet,  286 

Virgin-birth  of  Christ,  10,  60,  77 
Vollmer,  P.,  380 
Voltaire,  369 


Ward,  W.,  287 
Warfield,  B.  B.,  110 
Waterland,  confession  of,  625 
Watson,  J.,  391 
Watt,  L.  M.,  401 
Wealth,  pursuit  of,  64,  156 
Wesley,  J.,  196,  197,  318 
Westminster  Confession,  39,  200,  202, 

203,  208,  302,  366,  523,  524 
White,  A.  D.,  389 
Whitefidd,  G.,  318 
Whiton,  J.  M.,  408 
Work  basis  of  church  union,  443 
Working  creed,  a,  20 
World  evangelization,  325 

Parliament  of  Religions,  374 

^,  spiritual   interpretation   of   the, 

68 
Worship,  Book  of  C<»nmon,  384 

of  God,  305 

Worsley,  F.  W^  117 


Young  people  and  creeds,  322,  433 
,  terms  of  membership  for,  323 


Zeitgeist,  393 
Zenos,  A.  C,  413 
Zinzendorf,  196 
Zurich  formula,  335 


[571] 


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